Secrets and Shadows
by TartBabeLover
Summary: When Grandma Mazur passes away and Stephanie is forced to realize her relationship with Joe isn't going anywhere, she decides to make some changes in her life to make herself happy. What will happen when her past catches up with her 3 years later? This is a strong Steph story as well as a tart story. Joe is not harmed and is only briefly mentioned.
1. Prologue - When it Rains it Pours

_A/N: Sorry I've disappeared for a while! We had our house on the market and we were constantly coming and going so I hadn't had any real time to sit down and write! Plus I got a promotion at work so I've been adjusting to my new job requirements. Thankfully, we have finally sold our house and moved so I'm back. I have a new chapter written for Murphy's Law but I still need to proof it and my muse seems to be refusing to let me write it until I get this story down. It's a little different than my other story, but it will be a tart story. Hopefully you enjoy it. I already have several chapters written for this story so please read and review and I may post them faster! Don't worry I haven't given up on Murphy's Law – it will still be finished once my muse gets back on board!_

Prologue – When it Rains it Pours

I laid a white rose down upon the top of coffin. I felt numb. This couldn't be happening. She had always been so strong and had never failed to support me in anything I did. At times it felt like she was the only support I had. She had always seemed so invincible to me. As if there was nothing in this world that would possibly be able to take her from me.

But here we were.

I angrily wiped the tears from my face and threw a hand full of dirt on the casket as it was lowered into the ground. I felt so alone right now. There were only a handful of people that had even attended the funeral most of which were friends she had made at the Clip n Curl. What is the most noticeable are the people who are not here.

Her own daughter did not come to her mother's funeral. She had refused to come saying that if her mother chose to embarrass her even in death then there was no reason for her to further the embarrassment by attending her funeral.

I glanced at the small headstone that was shared between her and my grandpa Mazur. My grandmother had not died in an embarrassing fashion, she had died from a stroke in her sleep, but my mother was embarrassed because she had been in bed with her new boyfriend when she passed. According to my mother, there was nothing more embarrassing than and old woman having sex out of wedlock and then dying while still in bed and undressed.

The whole ordeal had caused a blowup between my mother and I, I couldn't believe that she could be so callous about her own mother's death, and she blamed me for always encouraging my grandmother to do wild and inappropriate things. I had already been an emotional mess because of the loss of grandma, but her words had been the final straw. I walked out of the Plum house and there was nothing that would ever make me go back.

The other obviously missing person was my own boyfriend, Joe Morelli. Joe and I had been dating on and off for two years now, but it seemed as if our relationship never went anywhere. Joe would try to force me to quit my job working as a bounty hunter and marry him while I would refuse and then begin our next off again stage. We would spend a few weeks apart until one of us got lonely and decided to show up with a pizza and beer which would begin our new on again stage. The whole thing was becoming ridiculous.

So here I was alone. Ranger had offered more than once to attend the funeral with me, but I was an emotional mess and while I would have enjoyed him holding me and being strong for me, it would only blur the lines between us even more. I knew I loved him more than I should. Probably more than Morelli, but I refused to think too much into that. The problem was that although Ranger had told me more than once that he wanted a "someday" with me, he also told me he didn't do stupid things like relationships and love.

I sighed as I felt a raindrop fall onto my face. The weather today matched my mood; the sky was a dark shade of grey that promised heavy showers later. I took one last look at the casket before turning around to leave.

When I got to my car I noticed an older man in a black suit leaning against it, when he saw me he stood up and smiled. "Hello, Stephanie. I'm Donald Galbraith. I was your grandmother's attorney."

I tried to smile, but I couldn't even force one. Instead I reached out and shook his hand. "Hello, Mr. Galbraith."

He reached into his briefcase and handed me a manila envelope. "I'm sorry to have to meet you here, but my daughter is giving birth to my first grandchild today and as soon as I'm done here I'm going to Seattle for a few weeks." He paused as if gathering his thoughts, "Your grandmother left everything she owned to you. It wasn't much just about $10,000 and her Buick. There's also a letter in there she wanted me to give you when she passed."

I nodded. I couldn't really think of anything to say. Everything felt almost alien to me. My grandmother was only a few feet away being buried under 6 feet of dirt and here was her lawyer giving me the last of what she owned.

He seemed to realize that I was unable to make a response, because he just gave me a sad smile. "Your grandmother was an amazing woman, and she was proud of the way you lived your life. Every time she came to see me she would tell me about your latest adventures. I'm so sorry for your loss."

I was so tired of hearing that. Ever since she passed away four days ago people had been telling me that same sentence. I wasn't sure how to even respond to it so I just nodded and Donald walked away towards a silver Mercedes that was parked a few hundred feet away.

I looked down at the envelope, but I just couldn't find it in myself to open it right now. My emotions were too raw and I was sure that once I opened it I would have a meltdown. I needed some support, and there was always one person I could count on for that.

I got in my car and drove to RangeMan. I parked my car in the spot that seemed to be reserved for me right next to the elevator and made my way to the fifth floor. I knew the guys must be giving me space because this had to be the only time I had ever come into the building and not run into anyone. Probably they had no idea what to do with a girl who had obviously just been crying.

When I got off the elevator I walked over to Ranger's office, but when I got there the door was locked and it was dark inside. I sighed and decided to check with Tank to see if maybe he was upstairs before leaving. I really needed to borrow some of his strength.

When I got to Tank's office I noticed that the door was cracked open and I could hear Tank angrily talking to someone else. I knew I shouldn't, but I stopped outside his door.

"You can't do this, Rangeman." Tank growled.

"I already have, Tank. I signed it yesterday."

I frowned, what had he signed yesterday and why was Tank angry about it?

I heard a fist hit the desk and I assumed Tank had hit it. "You keep leading her on and telling her that one day you will be together, but then you go and do this. How do you think she's going to feel when she finds out? She has enough shit going on right now without you adding this to it."

"It's none of your business, Tank. I made the decision and you better not tell her. There's no reason for her to find out."

Tank snorted. "So for the next four years what do you plan on telling her when you disappear? She knew your contract ended sometime this year. She's not stupid, man. Plus she has enough people that lie to her without adding you to the mix."

I heard Ranger sigh. "This will be my last contract. When these four years are up, I'm done."

I felt like my heart stopped beating. He signed another contract with the government? We had never made any promises to each other, but he had always hinted that once this one was up he was done. That he wanted to be with me and that we could have our "someday." Obviously this was just another lie.

"You can't ask her to wait for you for four years, and I know you won't make any commitment to her if you're still under contract." He paused for a second, "You can't keep telling people she belongs to you and you can't keep the guys from asking her out anymore. She deserves to be happy, and it's obvious the cop either can't or won't make her happy. You need to back off and stop feeding her lines about "someday" and stop kissing her in alleys."

There was a few seconds of silence. "You're right. Maybe I'll move down to Miami for a while. It's not fair of me to lead her on when I'm not even sure I ever want a relationship with her."

I felt my heart shatter and black dots begin to float in front of my eyes. I couldn't fall apart here. I couldn't let the guys see me cry anymore. Then I was running. I'm not sure how I managed to get from Tank's office to the front of Joe's house, but that's where I found myself ten minutes later.

Was it all a lie? Did he even have any feelings for me? Was I really just entertainment for him and all the Merry Men? I felt a few stray tears manage to find their way down my face and I wiped them angrily away. I slowly got out of my car and made my way into Joe's house.

The house was dark and quiet. I had no idea where Joe was, he was supposed to meet me at the funeral but he never showed up. I felt so tired and emotionally exhausted so I made my way into the bedroom and lay down on the bed. My mind was going a million miles a minute and I just couldn't take it anymore. I closed my eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.

I woke up to the sound of Joe putting his gun in the safe beside his bed. He looked over at me as I sat up and smiled.

"Did I wake you, Cupcake?"

I nodded and looked out the window, it was now dark outside so I must have been asleep for at least three hours. "Yeah, but I probably need to eat something. I've been asleep a while."

He nodded.

"Where were you today?"

He looked at me confused, "Work, I got called into an interrogation and stayed a little late so that I could be there for you at the funeral tomorrow."

Tomorrow? I stared at him amazed. I had reminded him this morning what time the funeral was and asked him not to be late. How could he possibly think that it was tomorrow?

Then it clicked. He couldn't remember because I wasn't important to him either. Just like with Ranger. Was I entertainment or just an easy bed companion? You don't forget to be there for your girlfriend if you truly love her.

I climbed out of bed and picked up the laundry basket I constantly kept at the end of his bed. It should say something that I never go around to unpacking it between my moves in and out of his house. I went to the bathroom and grabbed the few things I had in there and then walked down the stairs.

Joe was watching me but he wasn't saying anything. He just sat there with a confused look on his face. When I started down the stairs he finally stopped me.

"Where are you going?"

I sighed. I was so emotionally done for the day that I couldn't even think of a nice way to put it. "We're done, Joe. I can't do this anymore. You obviously don't care enough about me to remember when my grandmother's funeral is so I think it's safe to say there's no reason for us to keep pretending that this relationship is going anywhere."

Joe looked confused for a minute before a light bulb went off and he ran his hand through his hair. "It was today wasn't it? I missed your grandmother's funeral."

He sounded resigned, as though he was finally realizing we just weren't going to work.

I sat my basket down on the kitchen table and removed my key to his house from my key chain before handing it to him. "I want to say that we can just be friends, but right now I'm just not in the right state of mind to say that so I'll see you when I see you."

He looked down at the key in his hand and then leaned over to press a kiss against my forehead. "You deserve better, and I am sorry."

I nodded and walked out the door. Fifteen minutes later I was laying in my thinking position on my bed with the manila envelope that grandma had left for me. I was debating opening it because I wasn't sure that I could handle anything else today, but I also wanted to read the letter she had left for me.

I sighed and ripped the envelope open. Inside was a cashier's check for $10,000.00, the title to the Buick, and the letter. I sat the check and the title aside and opened the letter.

Dear Baby Girl,

I know that you must be missing me, and I know that you aren't sure how to handle your mother without me there. Don't let her bring you down, just because she gave birth to you doesn't mean she has to be in your life. Keep flying. Don't let others make rules for your life, if they aren't happy with who you are then they don't deserve you. Live for yourself, do what makes you happy not what makes everyone around you happy. I will always be with you cheering you on and I will always be proud of you.

Love,

Grandma

I felt the tears running down my face as I imagined life without her. She was the constant in my life that I could always count on. I used to think I had Ranger as well, but after today I wasn't sure anymore. I thought about grandma's words and realized I hadn't been doing things to just make me happy in a long time. I had stayed with Joe more as a way to make my mother happy than to make me happy. I kept working as a bounty hunter because it was my only connection to Ranger and I craved any time with him I could get. The work itself had never truly made me happy.

So what did make me happy? I love the solving the puzzle behind my skips arrests, so maybe I need to look into something where I could solve problems. I need to get out of this town though. I have nothing left here for me.

As I was thinking this my cell phone rang beside me. I glanced at the display and smiled for the first time in days.

"Hey Dev, you're just the person I needed to speak to."


	2. Chapter 1 - Old Friends and New Friends

_A/N: A big thanks to __**no 'mo morelli**__, __**secretblues**__, __**Anastasia Y**__, __**lundyred**__, __**thinkb4uact**__, __**babette7**__, __**IrishHoney**__, __**hollyhwrites**__, __**Anon2329**__, __**cmr1002**__, __**SapphireJ**__, __**XxTartLoverxX**__ and __**First Generation Scot**__ for taking the time to write a review! I'm glad you all enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!_

_A few of you asked for a hint on who the mystery MM will be. I have a plan to work my way through all of them and since Murphy's Law is Lester's story you can eliminate him from the mix! I will say that this story will feature a core team member! _

Chapter 1 – Old Friends and New Friends

3 years later

I stepped off the airplane and back onto United States soil. It had been a long three months and I had missed the sights and smells that could only be found in the U.S. I gathered my baggage from baggage claim and then grabbed a cab to drive me home.

As I watched the now familiar sights of Washington D.C. pass by the windows I thought of my life for the past three years. I had left Trenton the day after grandma's funeral. I hadn't even taken the time to say good bye to Ranger or my mother. When grandma had died, Trenton had stopped being my home.

Devin had called me the night of the funeral after hearing of my grandmother's death and offered to let me stay with him in D.C. for as long as I needed. Devin Hollingsworth had gone to college with me and we had been extremely close. After college, he joined the CIA and worked as an analyst. We had lost touch for a few years while he was doing training and getting started with his career, but we always managed to send at least a few emails over the years.

In college, Devin had been a member a fraternity that had turned on him once it came out that he was gay. At the time I had been dating his brother and had met Devin when he moved into his brother's apartment after he was kicked out of the fraternity. I had never been a girly girl with a lot of girlfriends and had always related better to guys. Devin and I became best friends. We liked a lot of the same things and had similar senses of humor.

When he called I knew I needed to get out of Trenton and I jumped at the chance to visit him. I packed up the few things I actually owned and told Dillon to donate anything that I'd left in the apartment and I left without looking back.

I spent a few weeks grieving before I even thought about getting a job. When I finally decided I'd had enough of being depressed I decided to try to find something that I loved to do. The only problem was I had absolutely no idea what that would be. That was when Devin mentioned joining the CIA.

At first I thought it was a joke, after all I had always been a joke to everyone in Trenton. How could I possibly even get into the CIA? Then I remembered the words from my grandmother's letter and remembered how she always wanted me to fly. I couldn't think of a better way to fly then to join the CIA, so I went and took the initial testing and the rest is history.

Turns out I scored exceptionally well in the "thinking outside the box" part of the testing and was able to find ways out of situations that few people expected. Apparently that made me the ideal spy. So I spent six months on The Farm learning how to fight and use my gun as well as learning how to be a spy. I also was taught to speak Russian, Arabic, and Spanish fluently. Over the next few years I picked up a few other languages.

I had to admit I loved working for the CIA. I felt like I was constantly proving to myself that I wasn't a joke. I was a damn good spy and I was determined to never be anyone's entertainment ever again.

The cab pulled up in front of my two story town home and I paid my fare before making my way into the house. The house technically was shared with Devin, but he had pretty much moved in with his boyfriend about a year ago and since then the house had pretty much only been mine. Which is why I was surprised to see Devin sitting on my couch sipping a glass of wine when I made my way into the living room.

"Hey Steph, did you really think you could sneak back into the country without me catching on to it?" He asked.

I sighed. Devin was an amazing analyst and enjoyed playing 'find Steph' whenever he could. Whenever I was out of the country he would make a list of where he thought I was and then compare it when I came back. Sometimes I would alternate alias when coming back into the country to see if I could get home without him noticing, but so far he had managed to catch me every time.

"Where's Eli?" I asked.

He smiled, "He had to work tonight, but there's a plate of sausage alfredo in the warmer he made just for you."

I moaned in anticipation. Eli was Devin's boyfriend and a five star Italian chef who owned the most amazing Italian restaurant a few blocks from the capital building. He had yet to make me anything I didn't absolutely love, but his sausage alfredo was to die for.

I grabbed the plate out of the warming drawer and sat down next to Devin. "What's the news?"

"I've decided to give you the town house. I'm planning on moving in with Eli for good, and this is just as much your home as it was mine. I want you to have it." He said and then laughed when I nearly choked to death on my alfredo.

"You don't have to do that, Dev! I'll pay for it, I don't want you to just give me the town house!"

He smiled, "The place belonged to my grandfather and I've never paid a dime for it. If it makes you feel any better I can keep it in my name, but you aren't paying me rent for something I'm not even making a payment on."

I sighed. Devin was extremely stubborn and I knew he would never let me pay him rent. I'd just have to find a creative way around it. "Fine. What else has been going on?"

He was silent for a few minutes as I finished eating my food. Once I took the last bite he picked up my plate and took it into the kitchen before returning with a glass of wine for me.

"Damien is back."

"Shit." It was all I could think to say. Damien had been on the Farm with me and we had briefly dated once we made it out, but it was obvious once I started my career that I was going places and he was not. He had always been more sexist than many of her other colleagues and thought that while it was okay to have women in the field, they shouldn't expect to move up the ranks. I had been paired with him for an op in the middle east that had gone bad and he had tried to place the blame on me when the shit hit the fan, but thankfully there had been a FBI agent paired with us for the mission and he had managed to clear it all up.

Unfortunately, Damien's career had been damaged when the truth came out and he was sent to work a desk job at the Las Angeles field office. He blamed me for the entire situation, and if he was back I hoped we would be kept far away from each other.

"Anything else?" I asked.

He sighed. "There's been some chatter from a few Army Rangers who have been making inquiries on your whereabouts. They've hit brick walls and they won't be able to find anything, but I figured you would want to know."

I frowned. Why in the world would they be looking for me now? Three years after I had left. It didn't really matter, I knew that there was only one Army Ranger that would be looking for me, and I was done with him.

A year and a half ago, I decided to make a trip to Miami just to see what was going on in his life. When I got there I found out that Rachel's husband had died and apparently Ranger was once again dating her. I didn't stick around long, and I never let him know I was there.

While I knew there was always going to be a part of me that loved Ranger, I was also sure that I was ready to move on. I wasn't sure if I wanted a relationship at this point in time, but I also wasn't sure I'd be against having one if the right guy came along.

"How long are you back for?" He asked breaking the silence.

"Just a few days, Al Fariq thinks I took a short trip to see a client in China. I needed a break from the Middle East and a few fat filled American meals." I paused, "Plus, I need to visit grandma. Her birthday is tomorrow."

"I can go with you if you want, I'm off tomorrow and Eli is catering a wedding for some Senator."

I smiled, "You can watch my back."

He laughed. We both knew I didn't need anyone to watch my back anymore, but it was nice to be able to relax and not always be aware of my surroundings.

Devin and I spent another couple of hours catching up on the gossip from the office before he finally called it a night and headed home. I was exhausted from my flight and was looking forward to a night on a soft bed. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

The drive to Trenton the next morning was quiet. I wasn't in the mood for talking and Devin seemed to understand. I watched the sights of my old home through the windows and was surprised that I no longer felt any attachment to my surroundings. I had grown up here, but there was nothing but painful memories left.

I was wearing a long blonde wig and green contacts just in case I ran into anyone I knew. I wasn't interested in catching up with my old friends today, and I wasn't sure if I ever would be.

When we arrived at the cemetery Devin followed stayed silent behind me as I laid a bouquet of white roses on grandma's grave and silently wished her a happy birthday. I hoped that she would be proud of me and what I had accomplished since she had passed away, and I hoped that she was living it up wherever she was now.

I felt a little lighter after we left and felt the urge to go to Pino's for a meatball sub. I had yet to find anywhere in D.C. that made one even half as greasy and yummy. Devin laughed when I told him that and agreed to go with me. He loved junk food almost as much as I did, but only ate it when Eli wasn't home to complain.

We grabbed a table towards the back of the restaurant so that I could observe anyone who entered and ordered our subs. After we ordered I looked around and was surprised at how little the place had changed. It seemed odd to think that I was such a different person but this place was almost exactly the same as when I had left it.

"How many people do you actually know in here?" Devin asked as he sipped on his coke.

Devin had always found the ways of the Burg interesting, he had grown up in an Atlanta suburb where neighbors kept to themselves for the most part and there was no such thing as a gossip mill. I glanced around the restaurant and noticed a table of cops that included Carl and Big Dog as well as a booth in the back where to my surprise Joe Morelli sat with a petite blonde girl.

"Joe's in the back booth and the table at the front has a few cops that I know." I said.

Devin knew most of my history that included Joe and Ranger. He wasn't a huge Joe fan and couldn't really understand how I had even begun dating him after all the crap he put me through as a child and teenager.

"Do you miss being here?"

I shook my head. "No, this place isn't home anymore and I'm not the same person I was when I lived here. The Stephanie who lived here was the Bombshell Bounty Hunter who blew up a car every month and rolled in questionable substances at least twice a week. Here I was a joke. I had a boyfriend who treated me like a bug stuck to the bottom of his shoe and a guy I was in love with that was basically playing with me like I was a yo yo."

He smiled as he thought of some of the stories I had told him of my past. He had a hard time believing some of the stories since we had been out of touch for the few years I was a bounty hunter.

"Is there anything you do miss?" He asked.

I thought about it for a minute. "I miss a few of the Merry Men. Tank stood up to Ranger for me the last day I saw him, Bobby was always ran to patch me up whenever I managed to hurt myself, and Lester always knew how to cheer me up when I was down. I know they didn't think of me as entertainment and I know they constantly got onto the cops if they caught them betting on me."

As if they knew I was talking about them, Bobby and Lester walked into the front door dressed in RangeMan black just as our waitress sat our subs down in front of us.

Devin had just as much training as I did and didn't miss their entrance, "Do you know them?"

I chewed the bite of my sub I'd just taken and then answered, "That's Bobby and Lester."

I watched as they sat at a table a few down from ours with their backs against the wall. The only regret that I'd had after I left was not leaving any kind of letter for either them or Tank. I knew they would be worried about me and I hoped if we ever crossed paths again that they wouldn't be angry about my disappearing act.

"You know you could go talk to them."

I sighed. I knew I could, but I wasn't sure what to say. I know they would probably understand why I had left, but I couldn't tell them what I did now. My official cover story was that I was fashion buyer for Saks which allowed me travel out of the country on a regular basis. The guys would never believe that. They knew how much I had hated my job as a lingerie buyer for EE Martin, and would see right through my cover.

Not to mention that I wasn't sure they wouldn't tell Ranger they had seen me. I knew he had been making inquiries through some military channels to try and track me down. I wasn't sure why he would bother since the last time I had seen him he had been with Rachel, but maybe he just wanted to see how entertaining I had been since the last time he saw me. Lester was his cousin and both he and Bobby had served with him on many different missions which I knew would cause a deep bond. I didn't want to have to ask them to keep a secret from their brother so it was probably easier just to stay out of their lives.

We finished our subs with only minor moaning on my part, I had learned years ago to suppress that urge as it brought too much attention to me when I needed to blend in, but I hadn't had a Pino's sub In a long time so I couldn't hold it in completely.

As we were walking out I noticed that Lester was checking me out and it almost made me laugh out loud. Once a playboy, always a playboy. For a brief second I worried that he might realize who I am, but quickly pushed the thought aside. I had in contacts and still had my wig on, not to mention that my body was not the same as it once it was. I was toned now and about fifteen pounds lighter than I had been the last time I saw him.

I gave one more look around Pino's as we left, and then I left not stopping to look back again.


	3. Chapter 2 - Phone Calls in the Night

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed or followed this story! I hope you continue to enjoy reading this story! In this chapter you guys will finally find out who our Merry Man is! _

_Due to the fact that I in no way speak Arabic, any conversations in italics in this chapter are conversations which are in Arabic. It's much easier than trying to translate through an online dictionary and only making a mess out of it! Also, this story deals with slavery a lot. Just for the record, I am totally against slavery in any form and this is just a story! __ Please read and review!_

Chapter 2 – Phone Calls In the Night

I spent the next couple of days with Devin and Eli. We went out to a few clubs and enjoyed some of Eli's wonderful cooking while I decompressed from being out of the country. The guys had constantly tried to help me hook up with the guys they thought were good looking at the club, but I refused. I had only dated a few times since I moved to D.C. and for the most part they ended badly. I just wasn't a one night stand kind of girl and I knew that I would be leaving in a few days so it seemed unfair to even try to start anything.

It was the middle of the night three days after my trip to Trenton when my phone rang. It wasn't my every day cell phone, but the one I used for my latest operation. I felt my mind become instantly awake and I answered the phone in Arabic.

"_Natasha."_

The hard voice of Al Fariq spoke, _"I have a present for you my lovely flower."_

I internally cringed at his words, when I had begun this mission I had problems with many of the men in Al Fariq's organization because the culture was one where women were expected to stay at home and only do what their husbands wished. I had been introduced as a slave buyer who sold slaves to many high end organizations from England to Russia. The cover was introduced because we were trying to infiltrate Al Fariq's organization and find out what his end game was.

Al Fariq had been a stick in our side for years. He had bombed several United States and British embassies and was well known as a seller of slaves for both work and sexual purposes. He was also a mercenary. For the right price there wasn't anything he wouldn't do which is partially why he dealt with me.

While I was a woman, I was a woman with large pockets and the key to selling many of his slaves. Instead of being openly hostile towards me he instead wanted to make me one of his wives. I continually refused and he couldn't anger me without losing his buyer so instead he tried to give me presents to lure me into his bed. I couldn't refuse his gifts because it would be an even bigger offense than being female in his culture.

"_What kind of present?" _

He laughed but it wasn't a pleasant sound, _"I just got in a new set of slaves that were captured by a few of my men in Shanghai. I remembered how you recently lost your bodyguard and I believe I may have the perfect replacement. He may need some work in the obedience department but I know you're up to the task."_

I cringed. This was one part I hated about this operation. I was completely against the use of slavery in any form, but I constantly had to pretend to be unbothered by the idea of torturing a person until they freely gave into my will.

"_You know how picky I am, Fariq. How do you know I will not be disappointed?" _I asked in a haughty tone.

"_Ah, Natasha. I know you. I know how you enjoy your men big and strong, and believe me when I say this slave will meet all of your needs."_ He replied.

It was easy to tell from the way he had emphasized on the word needs that he planned on this slave also becoming my sex slave. This could make my mission twice as hard because I now knew that I would have to take the man and he would have to remain with me whenever I visited Fariq from now on. Fariq had his own policy about slaves who were sold by him and if I tried to say he did not meet my needs in any way he would request that he be the one to perform his execution.

"_I see. Are any of the other captures up for sale? I may have a buyer if they are all of the same quality."_

"_Yes, I have three men other than the one I am saving for you. Either Pavel or I will pick you up at the airport when you land tomorrow. Text the time to Pavel."_ And he hung up.

I sat the phone down and sighed. I guess my vacation was officially over.

I had just finished packing my bags when my personal phone rang. I looked at the display and saw that it was Devin.

"What's up, I'm packing and I need to leave within the next few hours."

"We have a problem." He paused, "An army ranger was captured after a mission in Shanghai, he was apparently on his way out of the country but somehow got mixed up with a few of Mei's men."

Mei was one of Al Fariq's rivals and was the main supplier for slaves in China. Al Fariq had moved into the China market and his business had been growing there while Mei's was slowing down. It was basically a territorial war and the two had been out for each other for the past six months.

Devin continued, "We aren't sure how he got mixed up with them, but it appears that Fariq took all four of them and believes the ranger to be one Mei's men as well. Which is good, but we need you to get to Fariq and buy the ranger back."

It was good that he had been mistaken for one of Mei's men, if Fariq had known he was a U.S. soldier of any kind it would have been an automatic death sentence. The only thing that Fariq hated worse than being forced to do business with a women who refused to sleep with him was Americans.

Al Fariq believed me to be from Russian decent since I went by the name Natasha Romanoff when doing any kind of business with him. He had severe prejudices against both the United States and England because he believed that they were the reason for the poverty and destruction in the Middle East and that their treatment of women led to their societies becoming corrupt.

"Do we know anything about the ranger that was captured?" I asked.

Devin groaned, "The army is being tight lipped. Apparently he's Special Forces and uses the code name superman. We're trying to get a description, but they keep referring us to his commander who is apparently on a cruise somewhere in the Atlantic. The soldier is apparently among a group of elite Special Forces members who only answer to one person and their identities are highly protected to keep them safe. You may have to wing it. If necessary you can buy them all and we'll figure it out when you get back state side."

I groaned. Al Fariq was extremely tight fisted and never liked to sell his entire stock to one buyer, if I couldn't figure out who the soldier was then I might have a fight on my hands.

"Can you get me a flight that leaves within the next hour or two?"

I heard him typing over the phone as I threw my toiletries in the bag and zipped it up.

"I've got you booked for a flight that leaves at 11:45 that gives you about two hours to get to the airport and through security. I'll see you when you get back."

"Bye Dev."

I left my personal cell phone in my safe and grabbed Natasha's passport, phone, and wallet before grabbing a cab and getting to the airport.

When I arrived in Istanbul, Pavel was waiting for me. He led me to his Range Rover and within ten minutes we were on our way to Al Fariq's compound outside the city limits. I spent that time getting back into Natasha's personality.

By the time we arrived I had locked Stephanie away and was once again Natasha the slave buyer. Pavel took my bags to the room that was normally assigned to me when I stayed and the compound and informed me that Fariq was already waiting for me in his study.

He met me at the door and put an arm around me as he led me to his couch, _"My beautiful flower, I have missed the beauty you place upon my home."_

I gave him a small smile, _"You flatter me, Fariq."_

He gave me a wolf grin that made me shutter internally and wish I could take a scalding shower, _"Someday you will give in to me, Natasha. You can only hold out for so long. There are not many women who are able to survive in this business, and I could put you to much better use than your current employers."_

I didn't even want to think about what kind of use he thought he could use me for. _"Where is my present and the new merchandise?"_

"_Do you have a buyer?"_

"_I have someone who may be interested in buying them all from you. If the price is right." _

He frowned, _"You know my rules, Natasha. I cannot sell them all to you and I have already had inquiries from other buyers looking for a few good slaves. I will sell you one, and then give you my present for your personal use."_

I had known all along that it would be a long shot to buy them all. I would have to trust my instincts for this and hope I got the right man out before anyone found out he wasn't one of Mei's men.

"_Fine, bring them in and let me have a look at what I have to work with."_

He signaled one of his guards that were posted by the door and a few seconds later the three men came into the room.

I stood and walked over to them. I immediately knew that one of them was definitely not the army ranger I was looking for, he was missing an arm and I could tell it was not a recent injury. I moved on to the other two and tried to determine if either one of them could be the missing soldier. My gut was telling me that neither one of them was the man I was looking for, but if he wasn't here than where was he?

I knew I would have to buy one of the men, and while I trusted my gut I also didn't want to be wrong. So after spending several minutes looking over the two remaining men I picked the larger and more muscular of the two. I figured since the man I was looking for was Special Forces he would have to be pretty muscular (plus I had lots of experience with my own Merry Men to know that they were all very well built.)

"_This one."_ I said as I motioned to the man I had chosen. _"He will make one of my clients very happy."_

Fariq nodded, _"When will you be taking him? Do you want him drugged for the trip?"_

I looked at the man. He was very muscular and if he wasn't the man I was looking for he could be difficult during the trip. _"I'll be leaving in the morning as early as possible. Go ahead and drug him, but nothing that will knock him out for too long. My employer will want to evaluate him as soon as I deliver him."_

He motioned again to the guards and they took the men back out of the room. Once they were gone he leaned down and planted a kiss upon my lips and I had to force myself not to show the revulsion I was feeling.

"_Come my dear, I have a business trip that I must leave for within the hour and I would like to give you your present before I go." _

He led me out of the study and to my assigned bedroom. When we got there he stopped outside my door and turned to me. _"I know how much you like your men fiery, and this man will definitely meet your requirements. We have had to keep him drugged because he almost killed one of my men when we brought him in. I know you will have fun breaking him." _

Suddenly I realized this wasn't as much of a present as it was a test. I was a slave buyer who traveled without a slave and had never been seen with one. Al Fariq was giving me this slave not only as a test to see how I handled being given a gift but also as a test to see if I could break a man and force him to serve me. I knew if I showed up here again without this slave I would be giving myself away and would more than likely be killed. Whoever was behind this door was about to become my new partner and I could only pray that whoever it was would be willing to go along with it.

"_You know me well, Fariq. I have not had a slave since my last was killed protecting me. I'm sure that I will have no problem breaking this one."_ I replied coyly.

He smiled at my flirtation and opened the door for me, _"Then let us see if he meets your high standards, my flower."_

I walked into the room and almost exposed myself when I recognized the man lying on the bed and I had to cover for myself by pretending to be closely examining every inch of him. I could tell that he must have gotten a beating when he tried to escape, one of his eyes was swollen shut, his nose appeared to be broken, and the rest of his body was covered in other bruises and cuts.

"_Does he have any broken bones? Or will he need to be seen by a doctor?"_ I asked.

"_It's all minor injuries; I informed the men that they were not to injure him in any permanent way_." He handed me a key just as I noticed the man was chained to the bed. _"Does he please you?"_

I waited a moment to respond so that he would think I wasn't sure. _"I'm sure he will. We will see when I begin breaking him. When will the drugs wear off?"_

He glanced at his watch, _"They should wear off in a few hours, but the guards have orders to keep him drugged until you leave. They'll give you one last dosage to give him during the trip so that he won't give you any problems."_

I nodded and turned towards him to do what I knew he was expecting. I kissed him letting my tongue press against his lips until he opened his mouth and our tongues fought for dominance. After a few minutes I pulled away and gave him a small smile trying not to think of how badly I now needed to wash out my mouth. _"He pleases me greatly, and I thank you for your kindness."_

"_For you my dear I would do anything."_ He placed another kiss on my lips then turned to exit the room. _"The monthly inventory will be ready in three weeks. Will you be attending the sale?"_

I nodded, _"Yes, I will be here for the week."_

"_I can't wait to see if you are able to break your slave in that time." _

I watched him walk out the door and I knew that he had issued a challenge. Thankfully, I was sure I could make this work as long as I was able to convince the army to let me keep their ranger for a while.

I looked down at the man lying on the bed and I knew I couldn't say anything out loud because Fariq would have this room bugged, but I couldn't help but wonder how he had ended up here and what had happened to him. I ran my fingers down his face and he let out a small groan, and I made a silent promise to him that I would get him out of here. He had saved me enough times that I was happy to be able to save him for once.

It was a long night. I was terrified that he would come around and recognize me while we were under Fariq's eye. I was ready to get him out of here but I couldn't leave before I had already scheduled or I would set off alarms. So instead I tried to stay awake but ended up taking several light naps before the sun finally began to rise.

The guard came in not long afterwards and gave my slave his last injection of his sedative then moved him into the car for transport. By the time I finished throwing my stuff into my suitcase and made it to the car my other purchase was there as well.

Pavel drove us to the airport where the small plane that was supposedly from my employer sat waiting. He helped me load the men into the plane and then left. As the plane made its way down the runway I felt myself finally relax and I looked over at friend.

"Don't worry, Tank. We're safe for now."


	4. Chapter 3 - The Past Meets the Present

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, or choose to follow my story! I'm glad you all enjoyed it and I hope that you aren't disappointed that Tank is our mystery MM! :) I love Tank and I think he's a very underappreciated character!_

_Someone had asked how often I plan to post new chapters – I plan to post at least 3 chapters a week, but I that doesn't mean I won't post more if I've written more! Plus, reviewing always helps to make me write faster!_

Chapter 3 – The Past Meets the Present

During the flight I made a phone call to my handler and requested a pickup for the slave I had bought. He would be taken for questioning in order to get information on Mei's organization and anything he may have overheard while being held by Al Fariq. I also requested that Tank's handler be contacted and notified that he was safe, but that I would need him to continue on my mission. I was hoping we would be able to get his help without throwing much of a fit but sometimes interagency missions were a pain in the ass.

Since I now knew that Fariq was testing me by giving me a slave I was forced to be more careful. I couldn't return to D.C. right now and had to make it look as if I was taking my new purchase to my employer. I doubted that Fariq was having me followed but since I had already been under cover on this mission for a year and a half I didn't want to take any chances.

The plane landed in London where one of my supposed employers lived and I was met at the airport by a CIA contact who took the man I had bought and helped me load Tank into a waiting car. The contact handed me the keys and then left me alone.

I made the drive to the safe house that I had been using when staying in London while continually glancing at Tank. I wasn't sure how long the sedative he was on would take to wear off, but I was hoping it would have worn off by the time we landed. So far he wasn't showing any sign of waking.

I pulled into the garage of the safe house thirty minutes later just as Tank was beginning to make some sounds and I sighed in relief because I had no idea how I would have gotten him into the house by myself. I mean, there is a reason why the man goes by Tank.

By the time I got out of the car and around to the passenger seat he was already mumbling incoherently so I leaned down next to him and tried to speak in a soothing tone. "Tank we're here and we need to get out of the car can you lean on me till we get in the house and put you to bed?"

He looked at me confused and I could tell that the sedative was still pretty strong in his system. He was trying to place who I was and I knew it wouldn't take him long. When I went into the field as Natasha I straightened my hair but still had my blue eyes. It wasn't a large difference from my everyday style and while my body had made lots of changes I knew Tank wasn't an army ranger for no reason.

He was silent for a few minutes as his sluggish brain worked out who I was before he finally mumbled a confused, "Steph?"

I smiled encouragingly at him, "Yeah Tank, it's me. Come on big guy, we need to get you into the house."

He slowly managed to get himself out of the car and stood leaning against it. I could tell he was definitely a little dizzy so I moved next to him and put my arm around his waist so that he could lean on me and I could lead him inside.

The flat was only a one bedroom so I led him into the bedroom and pushed him down onto the bed. "Get some rest, the sedative needs to work its way out of your system."

I made a move to leave the room but he grabbed my hand, "Don't leave."

I looked back at him and he still looked like his mind wasn't sure what was going on. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to stay because he thought I might disappear again or if he just didn't want to be alone, but either way I wouldn't leave him if he didn't want me to. I bent down and took off my shoes and put my gun on the bedside table before crawling into bed next to him.

As soon as I got into the bed Tank relaxed, and it wasn't long before he was asleep again. I lay in bed watching him for a few minutes. I wasn't sure if I should be happy to see him or if I should run crying. I had been so careful to keep my past in the past that I wasn't sure if I was happy to see it collide with the present. But I also knew that if I didn't want Tank to say anything to anyone that he wouldn't. There were only a few people I trusted that completely, but he was definitely one of them.

I hadn't slept well the night before when I was constantly worried about being sure that Tank didn't accidently mumble my real name in his drug induced stupor so it wasn't long before I felt myself fading off into sleep along with him.

I woke up feeling suffocatingly hot. It took my mind a minute to realize it was because Tank had wrapped himself around me while we slept and apparently the man produced a hundred degrees of heat. I didn't want to disturb him so I slowly extricated myself from him and snuck out of the bedroom quietly closing the door behind me.

I made a trip to the bathroom and took care of my business before taking a long shower which helped to ease some of the stress I'd been carrying since I saw Tank chained to the bed at Al Fariq's compound. Once I was done in the shower I dried off and threw on a pair of boxers and a tank top.

I made my way back out to the garage and grabbed my sat phone from the car so that I could call Devin and then went back inside to sit on the couch.

Devin answered on the third ring, "Did you make it to the house?"

"Yeah, I was worried about how I was going to get him inside for a minute but thankfully he came around enough to stumble into bed." I glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that I had actually slept about ten hours, the longest I had slept in years. "I put him to bed to sleep off the sedative and ended up sleeping too."

He sighed in relief, "You normally call me as soon as you get in and I was worried."

"I'm sorry, I didn't sleep much last night and I guess I was more tired than I realized." I paused for a minute then said, "Did we get permission to bring Tank into the mission?"

"The army tried to throw a fit about it, but apparently they have another ranger under deep cover op in Fariq's organization and thought this could be beneficial to their needs too. So, they finally agreed a few hours ago."

"Were they able to get any information from the man I bought?"

"They're still working on him, but I think they were able to get some pretty good intel on some of Mei's higher ups from him. He ended up being one of Mei's right hand men, so he was a good purchase on your part."

We were silent for a minute before he asked, "Is Tank the same man as the one from Trenton?"

I sighed. I had hoped that he wouldn't have caught onto that fact. "Yes."

"Are you going to have any issues working with him?"

I took a moment to think about it before answering. "No, I don't think I will, but I also don't know how he's going to react when he wakes up and find out who got him out of Turkey."

"I'm only a phone call away if you need me."

"I know. I'll call you later and check up on the news."

We hung up and I stared at the phone for a few minutes. I could do this. At least I trusted Tank to have my back and he could catch me up on any gossip from Trenton and the Merry Men.

My stomach let out a frightening growl and I realized I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday so I made my way into the kitchen to see what the house had been stocked with. Thankfully, Eli had made sure that I could cook at least some basic meals. I would never try to compare my cooking with his or even my own mother's but it would be better than the days I lived in Trenton and could burn boiling water.

I found some whole grain spaghetti noodles and a jar of marinara sauce in the pantry. There was also some sausage in the refrigerator so I threw together some spaghetti and added the sausage to the marinara sauce for some extra flavor. I was just finishing it up when Tank came out of the bedroom.

I gave him a smile and motioned towards the bathroom, "The shower is over there if you want to take one before we eat. There's a bag of clothes that should fit you beside the door."

He stared at me for a few moments and I could tell he was having trouble believing it was really me standing in the kitchen, but after a few seconds he managed to shake it off and went into the bathroom. It only took him about five minutes to shower, something I had never managed to do in my life.

When he came out I had just finished putting the food on the table and was fixing each of us a glass of water. The only other option was wine, and considering the man just came off enough sedative to take down a horse I didn't think he needed to have any alcohol for at least a few days.

We both sat down and I began to inhale my food, but Tank sat quietly for a few minutes until I had finally had enough of being stared at. "What is it?"

He blinked at me, "It really is you."

I sighed. "Yes, it really is me."

"Your hair is curly again." He said as he reached across the table and pulled at one of my curls.

Straightening my hair was a bitch so I had l thrown in some gel and allowed it to do its natural curling when I got out of the shower so I'm sure I looked more like my old self to him. I just nodded in agreement to his statement and continued to eat my food. He sat watching me for a few more minutes before he finally started to inhale his own food. Who knows when the last time was that he had been fed.

We both finished our plates before I got up and refilled them both. I was still hungry and I was sure he hadn't eaten in a few days so he must be as well. We were silent again as we finished our second plate of food. When those were done I took our plates and sat them in the kitchen sink. I briefly contemplated cleaning all the dirty dishes just so I could get out of the conversation I was sure I was about to have, but I pushed the idea aside and decided it was time to be a big girl.

I walked into the living room and sat on the sectional sofa and Tank followed behind me. "Go ahead and ask. I know you must have a million questions."

He gazed at me as if trying to decide what he wanted to ask first before finally asking, "Why did you leave without telling any of us?"

I looked away from him and gazed out the window into the grey skies of London. "I was a mess when grandma died. Ever since I was little she was the one person to constantly support me no matter what I did. If I wanted to fly she bought me a cape. When I broke my arm trying to fly off the roof of the garage she took me to the hospital and told me that I could always try again."

"A few days before the funeral my mother and I got into a huge fight and she blamed me for grandma's death. Obviously it wasn't anyone's fault, but the way she treated me made it clear that no matter what I did she would never be proud of me. Everything bad that happens in her life will always be my fault. So I was done with my family. I walked out of that house and I don't intend to ever go back."

I wiped away a few tears that managed to escape when I thought about the way my own mother had treated me that day. "I was alone at the funeral. My own mother didn't show up at her mother's funeral. Joe had promised to be there but he didn't show either. I felt alone and I needed support so I went to find Ranger."

"When I got to RangeMan he wasn't in his office so I went to ask you if you knew where he was." I paused, unsure of how he would take the next part. "I know I shouldn't have listened, but I heard you and Ranger talking about how he had resigned his contract with the government."

I looked over at Tank to see if he was mad about my eavesdropping but he only had a look of understanding on his face. "I felt like he had been lying to me all along when he admitted to you that he had signed a new contract. When I heard him say he wasn't even sure that he would ever want a relationship with me it felt like the last of my support system was gone."

"I ran out of there as fast as I could and went to Joe's house. He wasn't home and I ended up passing out on his bed. When I woke up he was there acting as if it was any other day. He didn't even remember the funeral was that day. It made it obvious to me that we were done. If he loved me he wouldn't have forgotten that I needed him that day, and I think he realized the same thing when I walked out of his house for the last time."

I stopped talking and started pulling at the fringe on one of the decorative pillows on the couch. We sat there for a few minutes in silence before Tank reached over and grabbed my hand. "So what happened next?"

I looked down at our joined hands, his dark one enveloping my light one and for the first time I really realized how much I had missed a few of my Merry Men and how good it felt to have him here with me now.

"I went back to my apartment and read a letter that my grandmother had left for me with her lawyer. She basically told me that she wanted to live for myself and make myself happy. It made me realize how I hadn't been doing that. I'd been with Joe because it was one of the only things that had ever made my mother happy. I'd been working as a bounty hunter mostly because I wanted to have a connection to Ranger. None of it really made me happy. So I decided I needed to get out of Trenton. I needed to start over, and there wasn't anything left to hold me there. It didn't feel like home anymore."

"My friend Devin just happened to call me that night to check in on me. We were best friends in college and hadn't seen each other in a few years. Once I told him what was going on he immediately offered to let me move into his townhouse in Washington D.C. So I packed up the few important things I had in my apartment and told Dillon to donate the rest. Then I moved to D.C."

I glanced out the window and noticed the sun was beginning to go down. I wanted to get out of London before we talked about the mission or how I came to find him. Al Fariq had people in London who wouldn't think twice upon dropping in to visit. I needed to get us somewhere safe.

Tank interrupted my thoughts by asking, "Why didn't you let us know you were leaving? We spent months trying to find you and it was as if you had disappeared off the face of the Earth."

I stood up and went to the bag that had clothes in it for me. I pulled out a pair of sweatpants that I pulled on over my shorts and a hooded sweatshirt that I threw on over my tank top.

When I had my clothes on I zipped up the bag and threw it over my shoulder then turned and asked him, "Do you still trust me?"

He looked into my eyes and didn't hesitate to give me a nod.

"We need to get out of here. It's not secure and Al Fariq knows this is my home when I'm in London. Once we get somewhere secure you can ask me anything you want and I promise I'll answer." He nodded in agreement. "We can't take the bags but there should be a new passport in the pocket of yours."

He went back into the bathroom and returned a second later holding his new IDs. I had already pulled mine out of my bag. I went back into the bedroom and got my gun from where I had left it on the nightstand before leading him back to the garage and into the car.

"I doubt he has anyone watching me yet, but I want to be careful. We're going to leave this car at Westfield Shopping Centre and walk through to the other side. We'll get in the tube and go to the airport."

Tank, the man of many words, nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later we were parked close to Westfield Shopping Centre and making our way into the building. We went slowly; both of us were taking the time to be aware of our surroundings. After walking and pretending to shop for a half hour we were both satisfied that no one had followed us. We made our way back outside and to the tube station.

Tank looked over at me, "Where to now?"

I smiled, "We're going to my house."


	5. Chapter 4 - Job Offers and Japanese Food

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed or followed since I posted my last chapter! You guys are awesome and make me want to keep writing! XxTartLoverxX, it definitely doesn't hurt to review over and over! ;)_

Chapter 4 – Job Offers and Japanese Food

We caught the first flight to Sea-Tac and ten hours later a cab dropped us off at my home in Everett. It was my retreat that I hadn't brought anyone to since I bought it my first year in the agency. It wasn't a huge home, just about 1,200 square feet, but it was all mine.

I hadn't planned on buying it, but when I'd come to Seattle for a training seminar I had fallen in love with the lush green surroundings and the constant overcast skies. It was so different from where I grew up that I knew it was where I wanted to buy a home.

It had been Devin's idea originally; he had hammered into me the idea that every good agent needed a place that had no ties to themselves to hide if the need arose. So when I found this house I had bought it using a fake name of Diana Prince.

"Are you hungry? There's probably only some wine and beer in the fridge. Maybe some bottled water if we're lucky, but no food. I haven't been here in about six months." I asked as I led him into the house.

Tank looked around taking in his surroundings. I was proud to say this place was actually the only place I'd ever had that reflected my personality. The walls were a dark tan and the furnishings were all dark brown with dark red accents. The kitchen was modern dark cherry cabinets with black granite counter tops and black appliances. There were two bedrooms each decorated in earth tones and one bathroom. There was also an unfinished basement with gym equipment.

"Sure, what's good around here?"

I opened one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a few delivery menus. "There's a decent pizza place and a really good Japanese restaurant that delivers."

"Teriyaki chicken sounds pretty good right now." Tank said.

I nodded in agreement and picked up the phone to order us two chicken teriyaki meals, a California roll, and a spicy tuna roll. While I was placing the order Tank walked around looking at the pictures I had hung on the walls. He stopped in front of one of my favorites. It had been taken during a time when Ranger was in the wind and I had been in an off again stage of my relationship with Joe. I had just brought in one of my really difficult skips and had managed to do so without rolling in anything or getting hurt and Bobby, Lester, and Tank had decided to take me out to celebrate.

The picture had been taken by Bobby, Tank had his arm around my shoulder and I was leaning into him. We both had smiles on our faces and looked like we didn't have a care in the world. It had only been taken a few weeks before grandma had passed away. There were also pictures on the wall of me with Bobby and Lester as well as a few of just the guys. There were no pictures of Joe or Ranger.

When I hung up the phone Tank turned to look at me and asked, "Do you come here a lot?"

I sighed and went to sit on the couch. "No. I've only been here about three times since I bought the place. It's generally where I come to unwind and relax. I've never brought anyone here, so it's like my own personal retreat."

He looked like he was considering my words, "Then why did you bring me?"

"I trust you." I said. It really was as simple as that. There weren't that many people in my life that I gave unconditional trust to anymore, but Tank had always been there for me and he had even stood up to Ranger, who was like a brother to him, when he was treating me badly.

"Then why didn't you let us know where you were, or even that you were okay?"

I sighed and looked down at my hands. "It took me a few weeks after I got to D.C. to really think about what I had done. I was still getting over grandma's death and my head wasn't really all there. By the time I realized that you guys would worry it was a few weeks later, but by then I had convinced myself that I was doing you a favor by not telling you where I was. I didn't want Ranger to find me, if he was looking, and I knew you guys would keep my secret but I didn't want to come between your brotherhood. It didn't seem fair after everything you had done for me."

Tank reached over and pushed a stray curl behind my ear before running a finger down the side of my face. "You have always been more important to me than any brotherhood."

I felt my heart swell at his words and felt tears begin to fall down my face as I realized how much pain I had caused him. "I'm so sorry."

He reached over and wiped my tears away, "It's okay, just promise that if you decide to disappear again you'll let us know."

I took a deep breath, "How about I promise not to disappear again. At least, not unless I'm working."

I knew he was about to ask me about how I'd come to find him and how I got him out, but thankfully the doorbell sounded right at that moment. I wiped the remaining tears from my face and grabbed some cash out of my wallet and then answered the door.

I took the bags of food and locked the door. Tank had already gotten us a couple of glasses of water and some plates for our food. We sat down at the table and he told me some stories of what the other Merry Men had been up to since I saw them last.

Apparently Ranger had moved to Miami when I disappeared because he blamed himself for not supporting me when I needed it. Ron had passed away a few months after my disappearance and Ranger had moved in with Rachel so that he could be closer to Julie. They weren't officially in any type of relationship, but they were also constantly together and when Tank had visited last they were sharing a bedroom.

Bobby had met a nurse at the hospital when he was taking care of one of the guys after they had been shot. They had gotten married about a year and a half ago and were expecting their first child in a couple of months.

Lester was still being Lester. He left a string of girls behind him and was still the jokester he had always been. Joe had taken a job in Baltimore about a year ago and rumor was he was engaged to a teacher he had met while working.

We were loading the dirty dishes into the dishwasher when I asked about Connie and Lula. Apparently Vinnie had gotten caught doing the dirty with Joyce and Harry the Hammer decided to sell off the bonds office and get Vinnie out of his daughter's life for good. The office had been bought by RangeMan, and they had offered Connie and Lula their same positions but Connie decided to get into the family business and Lula was done with Trenton. She had enrolled in a cosmetology school in Newark and last anyone had heard was dating a guy she met at a club.

"What about you, Tank? What have you been up to?" I asked as we settled back onto the couch after finishing the dishes.

He gave me a look that I couldn't understand and then said, "I've mostly been running RangeMan Trenton and running missions. I only have a few more months left on my contract. I also spent some time trying to track you down, but I never came across any information."

I gave him a small smile, "Probably because I haven't used my actual name in a long time. I live in Devin's house and my current bank account and this house are under the name Diana Prince."

He laughed out loud, "I should have thought of that, you always did want to be Wonder Woman."

I smiled, "I still do!"

He stopped laughing and looked at me, "Maybe you already are. Are you going to tell me how I ended up in London with you?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was in Shanghai and I just finished my mission. I was on the street looking for a cab when I heard girl screaming for help. I followed the sounds and found three guys attacking a girl in an alley so I jumped in to try and get her out of there but the next thing I knew I was waking up in a cell. I'm pretty sure that they used a tranquilizer gun on me. I tried to fight my way out of the cell and almost made it out but there were just too many of them there. I heard someone tell them they couldn't damage me in any permanent way before they started beating the crap out of me." He paused. "After that I just remember overhearing pieces of conversation between rounds of drugs. I overheard someone saying the other men were to be sold as slaves but that I would be a gift for the bosses' lover. That's about all."

I cringed when he said boss' lover. No way in hell would I ever have sex with that slimy bastard. I was now more thankful than ever that it was Tank that Fariq had decided would make a good gift for me. If he had picked any of the other men than Tank would have been killed for trying to escape instead of just beaten.

"So, are you going to tell me who you are?"

I sighed. I hadn't admitted to anyone who didn't work with me that I was CIA. It was something that was drilled into us at the Farm. The less people who knew who we were the better, 90% of the people who were married hadn't even told their spouses.

"When I got to D.C. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to do something that made me happy, but I didn't have a clue what that would be. When Devin graduated he joined the CIA working as an analyst and when he saw that I wasn't sure what to do he suggested joining up. I wasn't sure that I could do it. I was so used to my mother and Joe telling me I was a failure that I automatically assumed I couldn't do anything. Eventually I decided to do it just so that I could prove to them and myself that I could do anything I put my mind to. So, I did and I loved it. Turns out I'm a pretty good spy. I've learned that I have a good sense about people and my spidey sense always leads me in the right direction. I think it's a lot like doing a distraction, just a longer amount of time and I'm trying to get information out of people instead of leading them out of slimey clubs."

I took it as a good sign that Tank wasn't laughing out loud at the fact that I was now a spy and continued my story, "For the past year and a half, I've been working my way into Al Fariq's organization as a slave buyer. The first six months were hell since I was female I had to constantly fight off men and ignore their comments about doing men's work. Eventually they had no choice but to accept me because I was the middle man for several large organizations that were supposedly buying slaves. Since I had a large purse behind me Al Fariq finally decided to treat me as one of the men. With the exception of the fact that now he's determined to make me one of his wives."

Tank frowned at this information, "Are you acting as his lover?"

I made a disgusted sound, "Hell no! I flirt with him on occasion to get what I need and he lavishes me with presents that I'm forced to accept because of the culture it would be a great insult if I refused to take his gifts."

He thought about that for a minute, "So, I was a gift for you?"

I nodded. "You would have been killed that day if you weren't. Although, I wouldn't really call you a gift because Al Fariq really gave you to me as a challenge."

"A challenge?"

"I've stay in the trade for eighteen months, but during that time I've never had a bodyguard or slave of my own. My original story was that mine had been killed right before I began doing business with Fariq. We were hoping that I would only be undercover for six months tops and I wouldn't need one, but we still haven't gotten the information that we need so I'm still in play. I'm assuming that Fariq is getting a little suspicious of the fact that he has never seen me with my own slave. So you were given to me as a test to see if I could break you and get you to serve me without question. If I'm really who I say I am then I shouldn't have a problem with this task."

Tank frowned, "Did you know it would be me?"

I shook my head, "No, I was told the night before my trip that an army ranger had been captured and that Al Fariq would be selling him as a slave. I was sent to buy the ranger if possible and get him out of there. We had no idea who the ranger would be because apparently your handler was on a cruise and no one wanted to give us that information. I was scared as hell when I went in there because I was afraid I wouldn't know who the real ranger was and he would end up getting killed or sold to someone else."

"When I went into my bedroom and saw you chained to my bed I almost broke cover. I spent half the night terrified you would wake up and say something to get both of us killed in your drug haze."

He spent a minute thinking about that. Even the most trained men can't help what happens when they are drugged. I could tell from the look on his face that he was relieved that he hadn't gotten us both killed.

He was about to ask me a question when Natasha's cell phone rang. I gave him a look to warn him to be quiet and he nodded. Maybe after three years I had finally learned some form of ESP.

"_Natasha."_

Al Fariq's deep voice came across the line, _"Are you enjoying your present, my flower?"_

"_He is proving to be quite spirited. It will be fun to break him." _I replied.

"_I have no doubt. I'm sure that spirit will be put to good use in the bedroom, my dear. I can tell that you would not be satisfied with a man that did not have passion." _He paused and I tried not throw up at the idea of intentionally breaking a person's spirit just so that they would do your will. _"I was wondering if you would be open to a job offer."_

"_What kind of job are you offering?"_

"_I believe that you met Mohammad on one of your past trips?"_

Mohammad was one of Al Fariq's right hand men. He was a liaison that went between Al Fariq and the person who was considered to be the main buyer for his mercenary services. The CIA had been trying for the past two years to get a connection between the two because cutting off the main buyer would allow us to be able to shut down Al Fariq's organization as well as possibly bringing an end to buying of soldiers from the employer's as well.

"_Yes, I remember."_

He continued,_ "Mohammad was killed earlier in a tragic event." _Translation: I killed Mohammad because he in some way betrayed me. _"I need someone who has experience in being a middle man, negotiating, and can speak fluent Russian. I know you were born and raised in Russia and you have always driven a hard bargain with me so I immediately knew you would be an excellent replacement."_

A part of me was thrilled with the job offer. I knew immediately that the CIA would want me to take it. It was an opportunity to not only get a hand in Al Fariq's organization but also that of his employer. Another part of me was terrified. Al Fariq was temperamental at best. He had killed people in his organization for no other reason than the fact that he was in a bad mood. Plus, he was already laying the charm on me how much worse would it be if I was working for him? But I knew it didn't matter, I didn't have a choice but to take the offer and pray that Tank would have my back.

"_You may not be able to afford my services." _I replied coyly_._

"_I'm sure we can come to an arrangement, my flower."_

"_If I accept, what do you need me to do?"_

"_When you return for the monthly sale we will work out the details. That should give you time to have your new bodyguard trained, you may be needing him." _

And with the same courtesy as all the men I knew, he hung up without another word.

I put the phone down and stared at it for a minute. I wasn't sure if I should be excited or terrified by this new turn of events. On one hand, if I made it out of this it would be great for my career. On the other, the chances of me not making it out of this just went up.

Tank pulled me out of my thoughts by asking, "When did you learn to speak Arabic?"

"I learned Arabic, Spanish, and Russian while I was at the Farm. I've picked up some French and Italian in the past few years, but I'm not completely fluent in either of those." I replied.

"What was that about?"

"The details of our mission have just changed. I need to make contact with Devin and my handler before I can tell you the rest. There's a gym downstairs and a sat phone if you need to make contact with anyone."

Tank stood up and walked towards the stairs, "I should probably make contact with the guys in Trenton and my own handler. Is it alright if I let Les and Bobby know I've seen you, or would you prefer if I kept it to myself?"

I thought about it for a minute before replying, "It's okay if you let them know, but could you please ask them to keep the info to themselves? Tell them I'm sorry that I worried them."

He nodded in agreement and went down the stairs, I knew without asking he wouldn't give away any details of our mission or the fact that I was now working for the CIA.

I picked up my own phone and headed to my bedroom to make my own phone calls.


	6. Chapter 5 - Dreams

_A/N: I had planned to have this out on Monday, but I had some sick kiddos all weekend and didn't have a chance to proof it until today! But here it is, hopefully the next chapter will be out either Wednesday or Thursday! As always, thanks to everyone who has reviewed and/or followed this story! This chapter has a bit of a darker turn, but all will be explained eventually! :) I hope you all enjoy it!_

Chapter 5 - Dreams

The call to my handler was short and sweet. He pretty much praised me for accepting the job offer and getting Tank out of Al Fariq's compound. He then reminded me that his job also depended on how I pulled off this mission and told me I better not screw things up. I bet it's nice sitting behind a desk all day letting other people do your work for you.

After I hung up with him I called Devin to see if they had any new information for me as well as to check in with him, but he didn't answer. It was nine in Seattle so it would be past midnight in D.C. I was sure that he was probably in bed.

I was keyed up from all the excitement from the last couple of days and I knew I wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. Instead I threw on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. I figured I'd see what Tank was up to and then maybe workout for a little bit.

When I got downstairs to the gym Tank was just hanging up his phone. He looked over at me and smiled, "It's strange to see you looking like you plan to exercise. The last time I was with you, you avoided it like the plague."

"Laugh it up big guy." I said as I went over to the treadmill and started running. "Did you talk to one of the guys?"

He stood up and went over to the weights I had set up in the corner and began lifting as he talked. "I talked to Les. He was a little irritated that I wouldn't really give him any information about how I found you, but he did end up demanding that I drag you back to Trenton to finish when I get done with my mission."

"Did you talk to your General?"

"Yes, but he didn't really give me much information. Just that I was working with you until you completed the operation or I was no longer needed."

We were silent for a half an hour as we both focused on our work out. When I shut off my treadmill he sat his weights down and gestured towards the mats I had set up in the middle of the room for sparring. "You want to show me what you can do now?"

I nodded in agreement and we headed to the mats. I was good, but I knew that Tank was great, after all he was part of an elite group of rangers who were selected to do the dangerous missions that no one else wanted to do. I could probably train for ten years and never be able to beat him.

We spent another hour sparring. I could tell he wasn't putting everything he had into it, but I also knew he wasn't going light on me. We were both covered in sweat and breathing heavily when I finally made a move to knock his legs from under him, but he was faster than me and stronger. He used his body weight to knock me off balance and then pinned me to the mat.

His body was pressing down on mine and I was intensely aware of every place our bodies were touching. It had been a long time since I'd had any man that close to my body and even though I'd never thought of Tank in that way before, I couldn't help but feel a fluttering in my stomach when he looked into my eyes.

As fast as he pinned me, he rolled off and lay on the mat beside me letting his breathing even out. I took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts out of my head. This was Tank after all, he thought of me as a little sister and we were going to be working together for at least a few months. I didn't need to have those kinds of thoughts confusing things right now.

I spent a few minutes doing some stretches to wind down and then I got up and got us both a bottle of water from the small fridge in the corner. I tossed one at Tank and he caught it before emptying the bottle in one long gulp.

He looked me over, "What's next?"

I threw my bottle in the recycle bin and sighed, "Well, I had been working as a middle man buying Al Fariq's slaves and pretending to sell them to my employers in Russia and England, but he just changed the game by offering me a job in his actual organization which changes everything. We have three weeks before we're expected to be back at his compound in Turkey so we'll have time to learn to work together."

He gave a 100 watt smile which caused my heart to skip a beat. I couldn't help but think that I had never seen him smile before. It made him look more carefree and younger, and I could briefly imagine what he must have been like when he was just joining the army with Lester and Ranger. I wished that I could have known them back then so that I could see what they were like before they had seen all the evil the world had to offer.

"I'm pretty sure that we won't have any issues working together, Bomber."

Wow, it had been a long time since I heard that name. I'd though that I would never want to hear it again, but for some reason it didn't bother me when he said it.

I gave him a small smile, "You're probably right."

"Since we have three weeks to get ready, why don't we take tomorrow off? We could relax and maybe drive down to the beach. We could even say it's a training day, after all if we're going to be partners for the next few months we need to get used to spending time together."

I knew we shouldn't, but I had forgotten how much I missed being around him. To everyone else he looked like a terrifying giant, but to me he had always been more of a gentle giant. It would be fun to be carefree for a day, even if we had this mission hanging over our heads.

"Okay, but if we're going out tomorrow I'm going to sleep off some of this jet lag. Feel free to make yourself at home in the guest room."

He laughed as I walked up the stairs, "At least some things don't change!"

I was surrounded by fire. I could feel the intense heat burning at the exposed skin on my arms and legs. The smoke was filling my lungs making it hard to breathe. I could hear someone calling my name but I couldn't see anything but smoke.

All the sudden a hand reached out of the smoke and grabbed my wrist pulling me towards what I hoped was the door. A minute later we stumbled out of the door and fell to the ground. I could finally see that it Jacobson, the FBI agent who I'd been working with, that had pulled me out of the burning building.

We were both gasping for air, and I looked back at the burning apartment building that we had been staying in for the past month. I suddenly remembered that we hadn't been alone and shouted, "Damien! Where is Damien?"

Jacobson shook his head still struggling to breathe, "He wasn't in his room, I checked on my way to find you. He's not in there."

Not in there? How could he not be in there? We had been relegated to a safe house after being spotted by one of our mark's bodyguards. We weren't sure our cover had been blown, but we weren't taking any chances.

I stumbled up and leaned down to help Jacobson up, he got to his feet and I let him lean on me as we moved away from the building. We rounded the corner and my eyes locked with Damien's. He was leaning against a nearby building half hidden in the shadows. There was someone standing next to him, I could tell they were having a conversation but I was too far away to hear it.

I was still having problems breathing and dragging Jacobson along, so I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath. When I opened them Damien was no longer there and neither was the mystery man I had seen in the shadows. My head hurt and I couldn't be sure that I hadn't imagined it all to begin with.

I looked at Jacobson who was only managing to take shallow breaths and was about to tell him that we needed to get somewhere safe when I felt a prick in my neck and the world went dark.

The dream shifted and I was in a cell. I was hungry and thirsty. Jacobson was on the floor asleep beside me but I couldn't sleep. Every time I tried to relax it made me think of how hungry I was. I wasn't sure how many days it had been since they kidnapped us off the street but I was pretty sure it had been at least a week.

I could hear people talking in the hall in Russian. Someone was screaming in an angry voice and another person trying to calm them down. They had us blindfolded and our hands tied behind our backs. Someone opened the door and entered our cell I could feel their eyes upon us but I couldn't see anything.

They were speaking in Russian and there were at least two people in the cell.

"_This one is too beautiful for the boss." _One of the men spoke. He was close to me. I could feel him breathing close to my ear.

"_You know if you touch her the boss may kill you. He has plans for these two." _Another voice came from across the room.

"_He will never know if I sample the goods." _The man close to me said and I felt him run his tongue down my neck. I refused to let him know how terrified I was so I remained still. Hopefully they would assume I didn't speak Russian.

"_These aren't to be sold. They are spies. He has plans to torture them for information, and he always knows when his play toys have been played with." _The other man said.

The man close to me moved his hand up my shirt his hand traced the curve of my breast before moving up and reaching inside the cup of my bra. He squeezed my breast with such force that I knew there would be bruises in the morning then he began tugging roughly at my nipples. _"You like this don't you? Knowing I have power to take you and you can do nothing to stop me makes me harder than you can imagine." _He moved to stand closer to me and ground his erection into my hips_. "Do you feel that? The boss wouldn't care if I took you. He would probably thank me for taking the fight out of you."_

The other man spoke, _"Ivan, you know what happens to men who anger the boss. Go out to the club and get a whore if you need one, but I won't protect you if you keep up with this shit."_

I felt the tears fill my eyes as he continued tugging and squeezing my breasts, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction I wouldn't let him know how scared I truly was for the first time I wasn't sure if we were going to make it out of here alive and I felt alone. I wasn't even sure there was anyone except maybe Devin that would care that I was gone.

The man, whose name I now knew was Ivan, reached down and unbuttoned my jeans and shoved his fingers roughly into them. _"It only makes it better that you aren't wet for me. When I shove myself inside of you and hear your screams it will only make me cum faster."_

The other man spoke again, _"Come on man, stop. She probably doesn't even understand you."_

He pushed the curls that were loose around my face behind my ear and leaned close to me. I could smell his cigarette and the alcohol on his breath. _"You may not understand my words but you understand pain."_

And all the sudden the skin on my stomach was burning. I could smell the rancid smell of burning flesh and I couldn't hold back a scream. He had put his cigarette out on my stomach. I heard the other man let out a protest before I felt a second burn not far from the first.

"_That's it. Scream."_

There was silence for a minute and I prayed to myself that he was done, but it was only a second later that I felt the metal of a knife blade trailing lightly over the skin of my stomach. _"Sweetness, did you know that I could stab you over a dozen times without hitting anything vital. I could stab you here." _I felt pressure on the side of my body._ "Or here." _He pressed against another area above my hip._ "I love hearing you scream and I could have you screaming for hours. Or you could beg. Beg me to stop, sweetness. Let me hear you beg for me not to cut up your beautiful skin."_

There were tears streaming down my face and my stomach was still on fire where he had burned me, but I knew there was no way I would ever beg. I knew that it wouldn't matter. This man was off his rocker and he got off on having control over me so my natural Jersey girl came out and I with a voice stronger than I thought I could produce, I replied, "_I will never beg you for anything."_

He let out an angry growl and less than a second later I felt the intense pain as the blade entered my side. He pulled it out and within another five seconds plunged it in a few inches above the previous stab. I screamed out and felt myself losing consciousness as the lack of food and the pain from the stabs weakened me.

Just as the blackness was closing in I could hear a familiar voice screaming, _"What do you think you're doing?" _But for the life of me I couldn't figure out how I knew that voice. Then the world went black.

I awoke covered in sweat with my hand clutching my side where I could feel the two almost identical scars from where I had been stabbed. My heart was racing and I couldn't help but feel panicked even though I knew I was safe at home.

It had been so long since I'd had that dream. I had hoped I had put it behind me, but it seemed something had brought it out again. I threw the covers back and glanced at the clock beside my bed it was only 2 AM.

My heart was racing and before I could even realize what I was doing, I entered the guest bedroom where Tank was sleeping. I stood next to the bed for a few minutes and felt myself begin to calm down. I knew I was acting irrationally but I just felt the need to know that I wasn't alone right now.

He stirred in his bed and opened his eyes as if he could sense me there. He looked me over and said, "Steph?"

I stood there for a second unsure of what to say. I didn't want to talk about my dream, but I also didn't want to be alone right now. "I.. I…"

He scooted over and lifted the blankets in the empty spot he had created, silently inviting me to join him. I crawled in next to him laying on my side with my back to his front and he put his arm around me pulling me closer.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

I shook my head.

He kissed the top of my head, "Then go to sleep, don't worry I'll be right here."

I relaxed, and for the first time in a long time I felt completely safe. A few minutes later I fell into a dreamless sleep.


	7. Outtake 1 - Tank's Reaction

_A/N: Sooooo, I had some requests for Tank's thoughts, so I put together this little outtake from his POV. Hopefully it will give you a little glimpse into what he's thinking! As always, a BIG thank you to everyone who has reviewed or followed since my last chapter, I don't have time to personally respond to each of you but your comments mean the world to me and keep me going! :)_

Outtake 1 – Tank's Reaction

When Stephanie had disappeared three years ago, it was hell. For the majority of the men at RangeMan she was a beacon of light in our otherwise dark world. We had spent so many years in the army seeing things that no one else could imagine that we all to some degree thought we were damaged or not worthy of a woman's love or affection.

Stephanie blew all that out of the water the moment she walked into Ric's life. Once he brought her into RangeMan he changed all of our lives. She accepted each and every one of us without showing fear of us and without any judgment of our pasts.

She was the reason that Bobby had given up his playboy ways and decided to give a relationship a try, because if there really were women out there like Steph he wanted to have one. While I don't think that Sarah is as amazing as Steph, she is definitely one of a kind and a great match for Bobby. You can see how happy they are just by looking at them when they're together, and I know that when the baby comes they will be even happier.

I had seen the way that Ric had been treating Steph before she had disappeared and I wasn't happy about it. All of us could see the relationship with the cop was barely holding on and it definitely didn't have what it took to be a long term thing. In all honesty, we were never sure why she was dating him in the first place. All the guys knew of how he took her virginity behind the case at the Tasty Pastry – after all we were men and we had all used the men's room at Pino's at least once.

But instead of making a move like a decent man, Ric would take her behind the bonds office and kiss her senseless before leaving her dazed and confused. The poor girl never knew what was up and down when she was with him. I knew all about the deal he had made with her and how she had rocked his world. Even if he never told her.

Ric was stupid. He had an amazing woman who would have done anything for him, but he couldn't get over his own fears of commitment to give her a real chance. It's not that he didn't feel anything for her, because as his best friend I can tell you the man was, and probably still is, in love with her. When she disappeared he went ballistic. He looked everywhere and even went through his list of enemies to be sure none had managed to enter the country undetected, but they were all accounted for and there weren't any of her skips, past or present, which seemed to be after her at the moment.

Bobby, Lester, and I weren't much better. We were up and down Stark Street trying to get information out of anyone we could think of. Bobby even tried to talk to her parents to see if they may have known where she went or if she went of her own free will, but her mother had slammed the door in his face as soon as she saw his black RangeMan uniform.

After six months, we couldn't help but think that she had made herself disappear and she had done a damn good job of it. She hadn't missed any of her trackers on her car, purse, or even the few we had in some of her favorite pieces of jewelry. She hadn't used her credit cards, bank account, or her cell phone. Wherever she was she was hiding well.

I couldn't help but wonder why. What had happened to make her run? Sure, her grandmother had died but she had seemed to be holding up decently against that. She was obviously suffering from the loss, but she had been sure to be with Ranger or Joe for the days after she had passed away. The two of them seemed to be doing a pretty good job of holding her together.

At least now I knew the answer to that. The man who she had known since she was a child and who had claimed to love her, had simply forgotten to go to her grandmother's funeral. Hell, I was dying to be at that funeral with her, so how had he managed to forget it? There wasn't a RangeMan in the building that day that wasn't thinking about her from the time that funeral started until we found out she had disappeared. All of us would have been there in less than a minute if she had wanted us there, but we knew she wouldn't. Stephanie was always trying to be strong in front of us and never wanted us to see her cry.

It had only been seven months after she disappeared that Ric had permanently moved to Miami. I think there were too many memories of her here for him. You could see a haunted look in his eyes that hadn't been there before, and I knew that he now regretted never stepping up with her. I also knew that if she ever came back he would have a serious amount of competition if he decided to try.

Half of the building was at least half in love with her and would have given anything to ask her out, but we were also a brotherhood and Ric had been calling her his woman for years. Most of the men thought that they had a real relationship of some sort and were respecting that. We didn't go behind each other's back and we never stole another brother's woman. However, now it was obvious that either Stephanie had never been his woman or he had done something to seriously hurt her. Now all bets were off and there would be men lining up to take her out if she would allow them.

I would be one of the first in that line.

I knew the moment that little white girl stole my heart. Lula and I had just decided to call it quits when she showed up at RangeMan and demanded I show up at her apartment for dinner that night, so I did.

When I got there she had action movies and pizza waiting. It wasn't a date, but she had wanted to be sure that I was alright after she heard from Lula she was no longer with me. I had never had someone go out of their way before just to be sure that I was alright and from that point on I knew there wouldn't be anything that I wouldn't do for her.

Lula had left me because she couldn't handle being around cats. I never let her know, but the cats that had been at my house were my aunt's cats and I had only been cat sitting. When I saw how she demanded I get rid of them, I knew we wouldn't work out so I had just let her believe they were mine until she walked out.

When we realized Stephanie was gone and Ric finally gave up on searching for her, I refused. I knew that she had gone for a reason, but I also knew if I had disappeared Stephanie would never have stopped searching until she found me. But I never found anything. I had her name out to all my contacts in a bunch of different alphabet agencies, but I never heard a word.

I guess I knew why now. She was a member of an alphabet agency and they protected their own.

When I woke up in the flat in London, I wasn't sure if I was truly awake or if I was still in a drug induced haze. After all, I'd spent three years trying to find her only to have her find me. When she told me she had been living in D.C., I was surprised. It probably wasn't the last place I would think to look, but it also wasn't at the top of my list. I'd always imagined with her love of the ocean that she would find somewhere that was closer to the beach.

When she led us out of England and we arrived at her house in Seattle, I was even more surprised. Stephanie was always so filled with light that it was hard to imagine her living in a place that was constantly grey and overcast, but after she told me why she left it all made sense. She had picked Seattle because it was the exact opposite of Trenton, a place where everything she thought was true turned out to be a lie.

Seeing the pictures of Bobby, Lester, and I on her wall made me realize that while she may have been far away from us she had never forgotten us. Now that I had finally found her I was going to be sure that she never disappeared again.

When she told me she was in the CIA, I was shocked for a moment, but then I could see it. We had always known that Stephanie had amazing instincts and that was something that would definitely help her in the field. She had also always been great at doing distractions because she was always able to slip into the personality of whatever our skip liked. The only thing I had a problem seeing was her working out and using a gun, but I also realized that when Stephanie makes up her mind to do something, there's nothing she can't do.

Later that night when we had sparred I was surprised again. She was good, very good. I was definitely better, but I had also spent the last 15 years in the army and most of that time was in the Special Forces. There weren't many people what could win against me.

I couldn't wait to see how she was with her gun, but I was sure that she'd be great. The CIA has high requirements for their marksmanship.

When we went to bed I made a plan to see if she would allow me to teach her some Krav Maga. I knew it wasn't something the CIA trained the operatives in, and I was hoping it would give her an advantage if something went wrong on our mission. I still wasn't completely sure what we were going to be doing, but I knew that when she took the phone call from Al Fariq she had looked both excited and terrified about whatever the job was that he offered her.

When I crawled in to bed that night I couldn't help but think about how much Stephanie had changed, but how much she was still the same. She still had that light that drew people to her and I could see that she hadn't lost that open and accepting quality she had always been just perhaps a little more cautious. She was also stronger. I could see that she would no longer stand up for the kind of treatment that her mother, Joe, and Ric had always given her. She was more confident in herself now and more self-assured. She didn't need anyone to protect her anymore or to come to her rescue. She was her own person.

I fell asleep wondering if she had found someone new to share her life with, and I couldn't help but notice that when I thought of her with someone else my chest felt a little tighter.

I woke up later that night feeling as if I was being watched. When I opened my eyes I could see Steph standing next to my bed with a haunted look in her beautiful blue eyes. It was a look I knew well. I'd seen out many of my soldiers' faces as well as some of the men I worked with at RangeMan.

I could tell just by that look that she had probably woken up from a nightmare that was real. It was probably something she had actually lived through, and from the look on her face it wasn't good. I lifted the blankets closest to her silently inviting her to sleep with me and she crawled in.

I kissed her on the top of her head and asked if she wanted to talk about it but she silently shook her head no. I put my arm around her and held her close trying to silently comfort her and she was asleep within minutes.

The look on her face was still fresh on my mind as I watched her sleep. I didn't know what had happened to her, but I wished I could have taken the pain of the memory away. I ran my hands absently through her curls trying to reassure her in her sleep that I was still here, and she let out a contented sigh as she snuggled deeper into my embrace.

I loved the feel of her in my arms. I loved the way that her small frame fit so well within my arms. Hell. I loved everything about this woman, but I wasn't sure if she was over Ric. I also wasn't sure that she hadn't been dating anyone else in the last three years.

Ric was also my brother, and I knew that even if he was in some kind of relationship with Rachel right now, he still loved Stephanie Plum. Did that matter? He had his chance with her, and she had even heard him say that he wasn't sure he would ever want to be in a relationship with her. I knew it wasn't because he didn't love her, but instead because he knew he may never be able to open up to her the way that she deserved.

I mentally sighed; he would just have to deal with it. I wouldn't pressure Stephanie, but I would give her options. I knew I loved her, I'd known that she was special since the first time I met her when I was throwing a guy out of a window, and I knew I loved her since she had invited me over to her apartment when Lula and I broke up. I knew without a doubt that I could back off and give Ranger his second chance, but I also knew that Stephanie Plum was one in a million. I could probably spend the rest of my life looking for a girl like her and never find one.

She deserved the world, and I knew I could give that to her. I wouldn't push her and I wouldn't keep her from choosing Ric if that was what she decided, but I also wouldn't just ignore my feelings for her. I would show her what it was like to have a partner who opened up and shared their life instead of closing you out at every turn.

Hopefully, she would choose me.


	8. Chapter 6 - Opening Up

_A/N: I'm so glad that you guys enjoyed reading Tank's POV from the last chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed or followed the story since the last time I posted! You guys are amazing and I wish that I had enough time to personally thank you! _

Chapter 6 – Opening Up

"Walking like this on the beach makes me think of my childhood."

I looked up at Tank in surprise. It was rare for me to hear anything about any of the Merry Men's pasts and I had long ago stopped asking, but here we were walking on the shore of Washington state and he's the one who brings it up.

It had been an amazing day. I'd woken up to find Tank had gone to the store and had brought me back fresh coffee and donuts. After I'd sufficiently gotten my caffeine fix, we went to Pike's Place Market where Tank had bought a massive amount of fresh seafood that he guaranteed me would make the best seafood gumbo I'd ever had. Considering I'd never eaten seafood gumbo I figured I couldn't argue with him.

After we finished at the market he dragged me through the closest Whole Foods where he grabbed a variety of things from spices to celery to rice. By the time we got out of the grocery store I was sure that whatever gumbo was I would never be able to make it. There were just too many ingredients!

After Whole Foods we made a quick stop at the mall where Tank did something I'd never be able to do. He ran in and came back out less than half an hour later with four bags of clothing. It took me thirty minutes just to decide which shoes I wanted to try on!

We made a stop back at my house so that he could put the gumbo supplies up and change clothes. I put the groceries in the refrigerator while he changed into a black t-shirt and a pair of black board shorts. I swear, one day I was going to get the Merry Men to wear real colors.

He took me to lunch at a diner that had the best cherry pie I'd ever eaten, and then drove us up state to a small private area of beach. I'd asked him how he knew of it, but he hadn't given me an answer. We had taken our shoes off and left them in the car and were wandering up and down the beach listening to soft lapping of the waves against the rocky shoreline.

When he mentioned his childhood I couldn't help but ask, "Where did you grow up?"

"I lived in New Orleans until the age of twelve."

"Where did you go after that?"

"Miami."

I gave him an irritated glare. One word answers were not going to cut it, he can't taunt me with information from his past and then stop sharing once I started asking questions. He must have noticed the look on my face because he walked a few feet down the beach where there was patch of sand and sat down. I went to sit down next to him but he opened his legs and pulled me down to sit between them.

"My father owned a shrimp boat and when I was growing up I used to wake up before dawn to join him on the boat and bring in the shrimp. When we would come in with our haul for the day my mom and my sister would always meet us at the dock with a fresh made lunch. Momma loved the ocean just like you. She'd come out and sit by the water when she was scared or upset and let it center her." He paused and wrapped his arms around my waist. "We spent so much time on the beach or on the boat that my momma used to joke that we were all part fish."

"My father was an alcoholic. We'd come in from the ocean and the first stop he would make would be the bar. Momma always made sure that we got home and were cleaned up and in bed before dad came home. I was eight or nine before I realized the reason she did that was because my dad was a mean drunk." He stopped talking and I leaned back against him.

We sat in silence for a few minutes watching the waves come and go. I suddenly realized that I had never seen Tank take a drink in all the time I had known him, and now I guess I knew the reason. He didn't want to be like his father.

"One night when I was twelve my momma decided she'd had enough. She was going to get us out of there and go to live with her sister in Miami. She packed up all of our bags and sent me off to school. Farrah, my sister, was sick with strep and she was taking her to the doctor before we could leave. She made sure that the appointment was early enough that she could make it to the doctor and pick me up before dad got off of the shrimp boat." His arms tightened around me. "There was a flash storm that caused dad to come into dock early. He showed up at the house and found momma and Farrah loading the car with our suitcases."

I wanted to tell him to stop because I could hear the pain in his voice and I knew that whatever had happened that day had been horrible, but I couldn't because I also felt like he needed to tell me this. As if it was something he had kept to himself for too long, and he needed to talk about it so that he could finally heal from it.

"No one knows what really happened after that. One of the neighbors thought she heard my father yelling at momma and telling her she could never leave him. Then she heard the gunshots. My father killed my mother and my sister then he killed himself."

I could feel tears pouring down my face as I imagined a little twelve year old boy coming home to find he no longer had his mother, sister, or father. I couldn't imagine what kind of pain he must have gone through, and I knew that it helped me to understand him better.

Tank had always been one of the first on the scene whenever I was in danger. The few times that Joe had gotten really angry at me when one of my cars had blown up, he always managed to put himself between us as if he was afraid Joe would hit me. He was silent and he kept his emotions locked away but I was beginning to see that it wasn't because he didn't feel them but instead because he knew what it was like to lose everything.

I twisted around in his arms and buried my head in his chest to hide my tears, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

He didn't say anything for a while and we just sat in the sand, me trying to silently comfort him. After a few minutes he picked back up again, "After that I moved to Miami to live with my Aunt. I met Lester and Ric there. Their Abuela lived two houses down from me and they accepted me as soon as I showed up. We stirred up all kinds to trouble together when we were growing up and when they decided to join up after we graduated; I went right along with them."

I wiped my tears away and looked up at him, "Did you ever regret joining the army?"

"Only once." I gave him a quizzical look and he smirked, "Didn't you ever hear the phrase curiosity killed the cat?"

"Yes, but satisfaction brought it back."

He let out a booming laugh that made me smile. I was glad I could make him laugh when only seconds ago he had been so sad.

"The only time I've ever regretted joining the army was when I got called on a mission three days after you disappeared." He reached down a tucked a curl that had escaped from my pony tail behind my ear, "I never wanted anything more than to refuse my orders so that I could find you."

My cheek tingled where his fingers and brushed against it and the look in his eyes took my breath away. His normally dark brown eyes were somehow softer and warmer. They reminded me of melted chocolate and I felt my heart skip a beat. "Why did you want to find me?"

Some emotion that I couldn't put a name to flashed across his eyes. "Because you're the heart of RangeMan, and you never seem to realize how important you are to so many different people."

I felt a stab of guilt as I realized he was right. While it's true I had been in a bad place, I hadn't thought about all my friends when I left. I hadn't said so much as a goodbye to Mary Lou who had been one of my best friends since we had been in diapers. I hadn't stopped to think what my leaving would mean to her or to Tank, Lester, or Bobby.

I pulled away from his chest and sat up keeping my gaze on the sand between us. "I'm sorry. I never should have left you guys that way and I definitely should have at least called."

He put his finger under my chin and pushed it until I was looking into his eyes. "Just promise you won't do it again."

"I promise."

He smiled and stood reaching down to help me up afterwards. We brushed the sand off of our clothes and then made our way back to the car. It felt like something had changed between us, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was. The only thing I knew for sure was that he was still holding my hand and I didn't want him to let go.

As soon as we got back to the house I was kicked out of the kitchen. According to Tank, his momma's gumbo recipe was sacred and if he shared it with me she'd come back from the dead just to kill him. Not that he had anything to worry about because with as many ingredients as it had I was pretty sure there's no way I could ever reproduce it. Even with a recipe.

So instead I threw on a pair of gym shorts and a tank top and went for a run around the nearby park. I ran two laps around the park for a total of five miles then made my way back to the house. I'd spent the entire time I was running feeling guilty that I had left my friends in Trenton without a single thought.

It was what the old Stephanie had always done. When things got tough I would run or escape to denial land where no one could touch me. But I'd like to think that I had grown up in the three years since I had left Trenton. I wasn't the Bombshell Bounty Hunter who bumbled through life by the seat of her paints relying only on my luck to get me out alive.

But at the same time, if I had grown up then why had I never stopped to think about what my being missing had done to my friends? When I had thought of people looking for me I had always thought of either Joe or Ranger neither of which I'd wanted to find me.

By the time I walked in the door I felt like shit and I knew what I needed to do. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the sat phone from where I plugged it in and made my way out before Tank got too irritated with me. Then I went into my bedroom and laid down in the center of the bed before calling the main line at RangeMan.

"RangeMan, this is Drew."

"Can I talk either Santos or Brown, please?" Even if Trenton was no longer my home, the 'Burg had beat manners into me that I would never forget.

"Brown isn't available, but I can connect you to Santos. May I ask whose calling?"

"Just tell him it's Beautiful."

The man grunted. "Listen lady, I just got this job and I'm not going to get fired because I patched through his latest piece of ass when he didn't want to hear from you again."

I counted to ten silently. "Well, I guarantee you that if you don't transfer me you will get fired."

There was a brief silence as Drew contemplated this. Finally he said, "One moment please."

Less than a minute later I heard Les pick up the phone. "Beautiful? Is it really you?"

I giggled. He sounded so much like a little boy who had just found out he'd gotten a puppy for his birthday. "Yeah, Les. It's me."

I heard him let out a sigh of relief, "Tank said he saw you, but it was hard for me to believe when we hadn't heard from you for over three years."

"I'm so sorry, Les. I'm sorry I didn't think about how my disappearing would affect you guys. It was stupid and I promise I won't ever do it again." I said as I tried to let him know how truly sorry I was.

"Where have you been?"

"A little bit of everywhere, but I've been living in D.C."

"Where did you see Tank? He's supposed to still be on a mission, and he wouldn't tell us anything other than that he had seen you and you were okay."

I sighed, "I can't tell you that."

He was silent for a minute as he thought about that answer. Les was far from stupid, and while I didn't think he would ever guess I was now working for the CIA, I also knew that he would know that something was up.

"Will you come see us soon?" He finally asked.

I had to think about that. Would I go back to Trenton? Trenton wasn't really my home anymore, but I also wasn't really sure I had a home anymore. Maybe I had been thinking about home in all the wrong ways. Maybe home wasn't a place. Maybe it was a feeling. A feeling of being somewhere where you were accepted for who you were by people who didn't want to change you.

"Sure, I'll come visit you guys as soon as I can. Is Bobby around?"

"No, but he'll be upset that he wasn't. He got called to the hospital because Ram managed to get himself shot." I gasped and Les heard it, "Don't worry he's fine. It's just a graze and only ended up needing ten stitches and a band aid. He might be in for more pain when Bobby finds out he missed your call just so that he could watch a nurse do some stitches."

At that moment Tank walked into the room and raised an eyebrow as if he was asking who I was talking to.

"Les, I have to go, but tell Bobby not to hurt Ram and that I'll try to give him a call in the next few days."

"Will do, don't be a stranger Beautiful." And with that he hung up. I figured that was the closest to a good bye I'd ever gotten from one of the Merry Men so I couldn't complain.

Tank had a huge smile on his face when I looked back up at him, "Why did you tell him not to let Bobby hurt Ram?"

"Ram got shot so Bobby was at the hospital with him, it just needed a band aid but Les said it would piss him off that he missed my call just to watch a nurse put a few stitches in Ram." I said and then I crawled out of bed and realized I was still covered in sweat from my run. "Do I have enough time for a shower before we eat?"

"Sure, you've got about fifteen minutes."

I gave him a grateful smile and rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower. Exactly fifteen minutes later, I walked into the dining room just as Tank was sitting some French bread on the table. We sat down at the table and Tank watched expectantly as I took my first bite of gumbo.

I couldn't help it, I moaned. It was amazing and I'd never had anything quite like it before. I heard Tank chuckle and I rolled my eyes at him. He knew it was good. We spent the next fifteen minutes in silence as we finished off the gumbo and wiped any remnants from our bowls with pieces of French bread.

When all the food was done I forced Tank to let me do the dishes, so he sat at the breakfast bar and talked to me while I cleaned the pots, pans, and dishes we had used for dinner. He told me stories about learning to cook with his mother because she felt that men should be able to contribute to a relationship. Then he told me about his sister. It was easy to see how much he had adored her, when he talked about her you could see how much pain it still caused him, but I could also tell he really enjoyed telling me stories about their childhood.

When I finished the dishes we moved into the living room and he told me more about his teenage years when he was with Lester and Ranger. The three of them had caused all sorts of trouble, but they had managed to have the crap beaten into them by Les and Ranger's Abuela Rosa when they were arrested for getting caught up in a gang robbery. After that they had straightened up, and a few months later they joined the army.

They met Bobby a couple of years later on their first Special Forces mission. He had been the medic assigned to their unit and the four of them had been thick as thieves ever since. For the next 5 years they ran missions together, but after that Bobby decided he was ready to get out and Ranger had the plans to open RangeMan so he had gone to Trenton and began setting up the business. Lester, Ranger, and Tank all helped when they were between missions. Les had refused to resign his contract two years ago so he was now a free man and Tank had six months left and he had no plans to resign.

I noticed how he tried to avoid talking about Ranger whenever possible. I think he thought that it would upset me, but I had noticed the day before when he was telling me about visiting Rachel and Ranger in Miami that the thought of him being with someone else didn't make me sad at all and when I was sitting here with Tank I knew that nothing would have ever come out of a relationship between Ranger and I.

I had never been able to sit with Ranger like this and just talk about his past or about growing up with Tank and Lester. The few times I had managed to get any kind of personal information out of him it had been like pulling teeth. But sitting here with Tank, it made me realize how much I needed that. As he had teased me earlier, I am as curious as a cat. I know there are things all of these guys can't tell me from their previous missions, but I don't need to know those things. Ranger couldn't open up about anything. I didn't even know the location of his real home.

Just like that I realized I was over Ranger, but I didn't bring it up. I didn't want anything to ruin this night, because I had never heard any of the Merry Men give me personal information the way that Tank was tonight. Hearing him talk about some of the crazy things the guys had done when they were on leave made me think about what they must be like when there was no need to hide behind a blank face. Of course, I had seen glimpses of it when Bobby, Les, and Tank had taken me out while I was still in Trenton, but thinking about the Bobby, Les, and Ranger stumbling around drunk in Amsterdam while Tank videotaped the whole thing was hilarious. I did make sure to make him promise to let me see that video one day!

We talked late into the night about his past and about my own. I told him stories of when my grandpa Mazur had been alive and I used to hide out at his and grandma's house to get away from my mother and perfect sister. I told him about playing choo-choo with Joe when I was six. Then somewhere between telling him about my brief stint as a cheerleader in high school and losing my virginity at the Tasty Pastry, I fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 7 - Decisions

_A/N: So, I planned to have this out last Weds but I had a paper due that I was sadly forced to focus on and get finished first. Thankfully, it's done and turned in so now I can return to what I actually like doing! :D I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and as always a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed and/or followed this story. Your reviews encourage me to keep writing and make me feel amazing! _

Chapter 7 – Decisions

The next morning I woke up to the sound of the sat phone ringing.

"We have some new information on the man that we believe is the main buyer for Al Fariq's mercenary services." Devin said as soon as I mumbled a sleepy hello.

"What do you know?" I asked becoming instantly awake.

"He goes by Ali when doing business with Al Fariq, but his real name is Ivan Belikov. He is the owner of the largest weapon manufacturing plant in Russia and he is making millions by selling weapons to people in Africa and the Middle East by paying Al Fariq to attack their armies and cities. He then comes in and offers the governments deals on large purchases of weapons to fight back against Al Fariq's forces."

"Does Fariq know?"

"We aren't sure, but if you can get some information proving that Belikov is indeed the man responsible for the attacks in Africa and the Middle East then the Russian government has agreed to help us shut him down. This will also solve our problem with Fariq, since he will lose 90% of his business, maybe more because we've also learned that most of the slaves he has been selling are prisoners of war captured while he's doing work for Belikov."

I groaned. In order to get information I was going to have to get into the most secure places of either Al Fariq's compound, or Belikov's. "Do we know anything about the other Special Forces operative that's inside Al Fariq's organization?"

Devin sighed. "His original mission was to eliminate Al Fariq, and he had just managed to get close enough to him to do so when Al Fariq offered you this job. The higher ups had a massive turf war with the army because they wanted to complete their mission and not worry about cutting off the buyer, but after hours of fighting they finally agreed that they would hold off. As soon as you have your information though, the orders he had will go through and Al Fariq will be killed."

I tried to feel bad about that but I couldn't. Al Fariq made money by selling humans and killing for profit. I couldn't see a reason for him to continue to roam the planet.

"Have you filled Tank in on the mission details yet?"

I sighed. "No, we took yesterday off to catch up."

As if he could tell there was something I wasn't telling him he said, "And what did you do?"

"He took me to breakfast, the fish market, and then to the beach. When we got back home he made me dinner." I said trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, but the truth is I wasn't. The whole night had a kind of magical quality about it and I now felt connected to Tank in a way that I had never felt connected to anyone before.

Apparently Devin didn't buy it either, "That sounds like a date, do you have feelings for him?"

Did I? I was definitely attracted to him, but who wouldn't be? The man was six foot three and solid muscle plus he the most amazing brown eyes that went from almost black when he was furious to a warm liquid chocolate color when he was looking at me. I also had a feeling he had opened up to me last night in a way he had never done with anyone else. Tank had always been the silent man at RangeMan and I got the feeling that he didn't have many close friends other that Lester, Bobby, and Ranger.

Ranger. That was a thought I'd had last night as I was listening to Tank tell me stories of their escapades while they were growing up in Miami. Ranger is practically Tank's brother, even if I was attracted to him, could I really act on it?

Apparently I was silent too long, because Devin interrupted my thoughts. "Oh my, you do have feelings for him don't you?"

Shit. He'd always been able to read me too well. "I don't know. Maybe. But I'm not sure that it matters."

He calmed down and I could practically hear him shift into best friend mode, "Why not?"

"I have so much history with Ranger, and Tank grew up with him. They also served for years together in the military and they think of each other as brothers. If I decided to try something with him I'd be afraid that I might come between them."

Devin was silent for a minute before asking, "Did you ever actually have any kind of relationship with Ranger?"

I took a minute to think about that, had we really ever had a real relationship? I knew we hadn't because Ranger had always been very clear that he didn't do relationships even if he was constantly insinuating that we may have one 'someday'. "No, I guess not."

"Then you're fair game. It sounds to me like Ranger messed up, plus didn't you tell me he moved on with some ex of his?"

"That's true. Tank said they aren't officially in a relationship, but that they share the same bedroom. But isn't there some man saying that bros always come before hos?" I asked.

Devin laughed, "Honey, you are not a ho, and I think that those decisions should be made by Tank. If Ranger is really his brother then as long as his intentions are good I don't see why it should affect their relationship, but it's his decision to make not yours."

I could understand that logic, but it didn't make me feel much better. I wouldn't ever ask Tank or any of the other Merry Men to give up their relationship with Ranger and I felt like if I decided to see what would happen between the two of us that would be what I was doing.

I guess that Devin knew I was having a hard time believing him, because a second later he groaned. "Seriously, Steph, you always put your happiness second. Remember you grandma's letter if that helps, just because Ranger acted like an ass and didn't treat you right doesn't mean that you should give up a chance at happiness with Tank. Maybe it will work out and maybe it won't, but you should give it a chance."

"What if I promise to think about it?"

"That's all I ask, honey." He paused and then got back to business, "I'm still looking into Belikov, and I'll give you a call if I find anything else out."

"Bye, Dev."

"Bye, honey."

After we hung up I stayed in bed for another few minutes trying to think about what Devin had told me. Maybe he was right and I should stop worrying so much about other people's feelings and give myself a chance at happiness, it is what grandma had asked me to do.

When I made my way down to the basement for my morning workout, I was shocked to find Tank lifting weights in the corner with no shirt on. I know that it's been a while since I've had a social orgasm, but even if it hadn't been I would have to have been dead not to notice the perfection in that man's body.

He was built, as all the RangeMen I knew were, but he wasn't overly built. I knew I had a type and my type (with the exception of the Dick, but we all know I never really was that interested in him) were well built muscular men who didn't look like they had been injecting steroids in secret. I was fascinated with the movement of his muscles as he moved the bar up and down over his head and I couldn't help but notice the small drop of sweat that was slowly making its way down the crevice of his spine. I seriously had to fight down the urge to walk over there and lick it off his back. I seriously needed some sugar.

As if he could feel me checking him out, the side of his mouth tipped up in an almost imperceptible smirk. No one else would have noticed it, but I had spent more time trying to analyze the Merry Men's blank faces than anyone and I knew I had a pretty good idea of what was going through his mind. He knew I was checking him out and he felt pretty damn good about it.

Something about that smirk sparked my inner Jersey girl. After all, you can take the girl out of Jersey but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl. I was wearing a read tank top over a black sports bra and a pair of black jogging shorts. I had only put on the tank top because I thought it would make him more comfortable while we were working out, but if he wanted to play dirty then so could I. I ripped my tank top off and jumped on the treadmill.

I knew I looked good. I'd spent the last few years working out on a consistent basis and limiting my sugar intake (granted I would never cut it out completely, after all I hadn't had sex in over 3 years), so my body was thin and toned.

I knew the moment that he noticed my wardrobe change because I was watching him through the mirror on the wall in front of me. His eyes widened and even from the distance I was from him I could tell that his eyes had turned the color of melted chocolate and he stumbled in his rep. I couldn't help but grin, it seemed like I wasn't the only one affected here.

It was about an hour into our workout that it finally struck me that I was trying to get his attention. I was definitely attracted to him and I could definitely see us going somewhere, but should I listen to Devin? I had always been the kind of person who worried more about what other people felt or needed than worrying about what I wanted or needed, which could be seen by both my relationship with Joe and with Ranger.

With Joe I had always wanted and needed more. I wanted to feel like I was more important than his work. I wanted to feel like we had some sort of deeper connection than just our shared past, and I needed to feel like I was more than just a booty call late at night when his "boys" needed me. I never got any of those things from him and I just let our relationship continue because it was what my mother wanted and what Joe wanted. I had been desperate to not only do something to make my mother proud but to also show her that I could be in a relationship that could be going somewhere.

But then I had always pushed him away from anything too serious, I think it was because I knew that while I did love him in the way you always love the guy who took your virginity, I never really felt anything deeper than that. I was just desperate to not be alone and confused about what I truly wanted out of a relationship.

With Ranger, I always wanted to feel like he needed me for something other than sex. I wanted to feel like I was important enough that he couldn't see his life without me. I needed to feel like he had a deep enough connection with me that he wanted to call me when things went bad in his day or he was about to go in the wind. I would occasionally get the midnight visit to my apartment to watch me sleep before he would disappear for a few weeks, but he would never intentionally just drop by to let me know he was going and he never once picked up the phone to just call me.

I know I had been in love with Ranger in a way I had never been with Joe. Ranger had always supported me and my decisions to continue doing my job even when he knew I was ill prepared to do it, and he was constantly there to back me up when everything turned bad. But at the end of the day, our connection was based on intense attraction only. I could list the things I knew about the man personally on one hand, and that just wasn't enough for me. I was in love with the man I thought Ranger was, but not necessarily the man he actually is. I would always have a connection to him, but I could also honestly say that I was done with that time in my life.

I glanced over at Tank who was now jogging on the treadmill while I spent some time with the weights. He had been there for me just as much as Ranger had been, maybe even more. When Ranger was in the wind, I would have Tank's constant shadow behind me. I always assumed it was because Ranger had ordered him to be there, but maybe it was something more.

These last few days had opened my mind to a part of Tank that I had never seen before. He had opened up to me and was letting me get to know who he truly was, and not just the parts of him he let the rest of the world see. I could tell by the way he had talked about his family that there weren't a lot of people he trusted with that information and it humbled me that he had chosen to share it with me.

I was definitely attracted to him, but I could also feel a different kind of connection beginning to form between us. When I had walked into the room I felt an electric tingle down my neck, a feeling that I had only ever felt before when I was with Ranger. It excited me because for a while I had thought that I would never have those kinds of feelings for anyone again. I had dated Damien briefly, but I had never felt this kind of excitement or connection to him. No one else had even gotten me interested enough to try a first date.

So the question was, did I want to open myself up again and see what would happen between us? I looked over at him and felt my heart speed up a little, would it be alright for me to even start something with Ranger's best friend? Devin's words filled my head and I remembered how he had told me that it was not my problem to worry about Tank and Ranger's relationship, and I couldn't help but think that Ranger and I had never truly been in any kind of relationship in the first place. He had always been very clear that his life didn't lend itself to any type of relationship. So if that was true, than this shouldn't be an issue and if Ranger was truly best friends with Tank he would be happy for us if we did decide that we wanted to try to see where our relationship would go.

I sighed, how could I even be sure he was interested in anything with me? After all, he had seen me at my worst. He knew how much of an awful bounty hunter I had been and how I had refused for years to even try and get any type of training. I had been an idiot.

But then I remembered the last few days, he had opened up to me in a way he had never done in Trenton. He had also cooked me a fabulous dinner and stayed up late into the night talking to me. Not to mention the pretty obvious flirting we were doing right now with our lack of clothing.

I looked up at him and noticed he was looking at me as if he could read all the thoughts running through my head and he smiled. Heck, he probably could since I'm pretty sure ESP was a requirement for working at RangeMan, but he didn't say anything so I let myself believe that he didn't have a clue what was going on in my head. Yeah, I may have matured but I still take the occasional trip to Denial Land.

"Would you like to spar for a little bit?" He asked.

I nodded and gave him a grin, "Sure, I love eating mat."

He laughed, "I thought maybe I could spend some time teaching you some Krav Maga. I think you'd like it because it essentially has no rules and I know it's not something they teach operatives."

I groaned, I could just tell this meant that I would be eating a lot more mat today than I had in our previous sparring session, but I could also see how knowing something that someone wouldn't expect me to know would be helpful. "Sure, just try not to kill me."

He smiled and then we both removed our shoes and stepped onto the mats. Tank spent the next hour going over different moves with me and then testing me to make sure I got them. By the end of the hour I could definitely say that I enjoyed the style, but I could also say that I needed a visit to my shower massager. If his body touched me one more time it was entirely possible that I might actually combust, and the sad thing was it was even intimate touching.

After we finished our workout, we both went our separate ways to shower and change before meeting for lunch. I spent that time giving my shower massager its workout. After all, there's a reason I spent so much money on the top of the line model!

When I entered the kitchen after my very satisfying shower, Tank was just finishing a couple of sandwiches so I grabbed us each a bottle of water and met him at the table.

When he sat down he turned to me and said, "Okay, so what's our mission?"

I sighed; I had really hoped to put off this talk because I wasn't really sure how he would take it when he found out what he would have to do. "How much do you know about Al Fariq and his organization?"

"Not much, I know he deals in slave trade of mostly men and that he's a mercenary for hire with no moral compass."

I nodded. "Yes, Devin managed to dig up some information and found out that the majority of his mercenary services are bought by a man named Ali. Ali is apparently Ivan Belikov, an arms dealer from Russia."

Tank nodded, "I've heard of Belikov, but I had no idea he was in to anything like this. He's a pretty well respected man in Russia."

"It's the way he makes his money. He pays a fee to Al Fariq and Al Fariq starts wars where he tells him to. Then Belikov comes in and sells his weapons to the area that is being attacked for a profit." I paused, "Do you know how Al Fariq gets the men he sells as slaves?"

Tank shook his head.

"He captures them. All the men he sells were prisoners of war or men he captured from his enemies, like you."

Tank took a minute to think about that. It was seriously wrong that most of these men were completely innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time and forced into a life that was neither easy nor escapable. "So, what are we going to do?"

"I have to be back in two and a half weeks for what Al Fariq refers to as his monthly sale." I paused, "He sells all the men he's captured in the last month to the slave buyers he agrees to do business with. He expects me to be there to buy as well as to take him up on his new job offer which I now know is to become the new middle man between him and Ali."

He grimaced, "That's not going to be safe, Al Fariq's temper is well known."

I knew that. I also knew if we were caught we would probably end up dead, but I was trying to be positive. "There's already another Special Forces soldier in Fariq's agency, apparently his mission was to get close enough to kill him but when they found out about Ali they decided that they wanted to get rid of both parties instead of just one. The Russian government has agreed to shut down Belikov's business if we can get evidence that he is indeed buying services from Fariq, so our mission is to find the evidence at either Fariq's compound or at Belikov's."

Tank nodded, "Okay, so what do I need to do?"

I blushed, "You have to pretend to be my slave."

Tank blinked at me in surprise.

"Fariq gave you to me as a test, if I don't come back with you as a well-mannered slave then I will blow my cover or in worst case scenario he will think that you were more trouble than you were worth and request that he be allowed to kill you."

"So what do I need to do?"

"Essentially it's a perfect cover for you; he will expect you to be my bodyguard. For the most part it will allow you to be with me wherever I am except for when I'm negotiating with either Fariq or Ali."

Tank sighed in relief, "I can handle that."

The rest of lunch we sat in silence eating our food and relaxing. After lunch Tank decided that he was going to read up on all my files related to Al Fariq so I gave him my laptop and left him to it. I knew those files from front to back and reading them just made me sick. So instead I decided to go shopping, maybe it was time to open myself up to a new relationship and maybe it was time for a trip to Victoria's Secret. After all, sex underwear always made me feel more confident.


	10. Chapter 8 - First Dates and Pumpkin Pie

_A/N: Only 10 reviews for the last chapter! To those of you_ who did review, THANK YOU_ so much! Your reviews mean the world to me and they're what brought this chapter about. Here's your warning, there is some SMUT in this chapter! Hopefully you guys enjoy this! The next chapter should be out Tuesday or Wednesday (Maybe tomorrow if I get enough reviews!)_

Chapter 8 – First Dates and Pumpkin Pie

"I seriously can't go over this anymore." I said as I pushed them monitor of my laptop closed and leaned back against the couch.

We had been going over the information on Ivan Belikov and Al Fariq's organization for over a week and a half now. Tank was hoping to be able to find a money trail or some other kind of connection that would keep us from having to go back to Turkey undercover. I'm pretty sure that he was trying to protect me.

Tank sighed from his seat in the recliner next to me. "I can't either, there's nothing here. However they're dealing they're covering their tracks well."

I watched him lean back into the recliner and forced myself not to sigh out loud. It had been a week and a half since I decided I wanted to have a relationship with him, but he had not made any move to actually start anything. I had briefly considered that I may have imagined the connection between us, but I knew that wasn't true.

Even if he wasn't making a move he was in constant contact with me. Even now while I was sitting on the sofa and he was sitting in the recliner he managed to have contact with me by stretching his long leg out to touch mine. When I had made us lunch earlier in the day he had stayed in the kitchen with me talking and massaging my shoulders as I cut vegetables for our salads.

I felt like he was waiting for something, but I had absolutely no idea what it was.

The sound of Tank's phone ringing interrupted my thoughts. He had gotten the phone from some local contact a few days ago and said it was untraceable. He only used it to talk to the guys in Trenton and I knew that even if they could trace it they wouldn't out of respect for him.

He reached over and picked it up off of the coffee table in front of us and I noticed he had an anxious look on his face, was there something going on I didn't know about?

"Yo."

There was silence for a few minutes as Tank listened to whatever was being said. I watched as a look of relief passed across his face and he leaned back into the chair.

"Thanks for letting me know, Santos. Just so you know, we will be out of reach after Wednesday. I'll try to check in once a week, but I'm not sure how long we'll be gone or if I'll be able to get ahold of a secure phone."

Les must have responded in some way because he kept his ear to the phone for another 15 seconds before flipping it closed and putting it back on the coffee table. I seriously needed to teach these guys some phone manners!

"What was that about?"

He looked over at me and something crossed his face that I couldn't identify. "Ranger missed his check-in last week, but he just made contact this morning. Apparently where ever he is he hasn't been able to get out of to make regular check-ins."

"Is that why you were worried?"

He nodded, "They told me about it last week when I checked in, but I didn't want to worry you. I'm sure you know how hard it can be to make check in sometimes."

I nodded, I did know. I watched his face for a minute and realized that he was looking at me expectantly, like he was waiting for something. Then I finally realized what was going on, he still wasn't sure that I was over Ranger. He thought that I was going to fall apart or cry, but I wasn't. Sure, I would always worry about him and I was glad to know he was okay, but I had moved on. Someday, we might be friends again but today I wasn't sure what we were.

"I'm glad he's okay."

He watched me with confusion for a few minutes, as if he wasn't sure what was going on before finally asking, "Are you okay?"

I sighed. "I'm fine. I'm over Ranger, but I'm glad to know he is okay. We don't have a future together and the more I think about the more I'm sure we never would have. I don't know what we are now, but I don't want anything bad to happen to him."

He watched me for a minute as if he was trying to determine if I was being honest or not, and eventually he looked away. "I'm going to go take a shower."

I smiled and leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes, "Okay."

I heard his footsteps go across the living room and into the guest room before they paused. "Steph?"

I opened my eyes and looked up at him; he'd stopped right inside the doorway to his room. "Yeah?"

A nervous smile spread across his face, "Can I take you out to dinner tonight?"

I felt the smile spread across my face, "I'd love that."

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

I was staring at the two dresses I had picked out for my date with Tank tonight and I was freaking out. I needed to talk to someone, but I'd already tried to call Devin and he wasn't answering. I took a deep breath and picked up my phone then dialed the number for Bobby that I had gotten a few days ago. When I needed advise there was no one else that understood the way I thought as well as he did, well except for maybe Ranger.

He picked up a second later and threw out the standard "Yo."

"HELP."

He was silent for a minute, "Bomber?"

I sighed, I'd had a conversation with him a few days earlier apologizing for the way I left and congratulating him on his upcoming fatherhood. I could tell he was confused by my call, but I was lost. "Yeah, it's me."

"What's wrong?"

I hadn't thought this part through. I wasn't really sure if Tank had mentioned anything to the guys or if he would want me to tell them that we were… well I don't know what we were right now. "If I tell you something, will you promise me not to tell anyone else? Especially the other guys?"

"Sure, as long as you're not in danger I won't tell anyone." He promised.

"I have a date tonight." I paused. "With Tank."

There was silence for a full minute before he started laughing out loud, "It's about damn time."

"Huh?"

"Sweetheart, that man has been in love with you for years. When you disappeared he tore this town apart trying to find you and when he finally realized that you weren't here he used every one of his contacts to see if he could find out where you went. Ranger gave up after 6 months, but Tank never did."

He had looked for me? I knew he had told me that they all had, but I had assumed it was really Ranger that had wanted me found. I never imagined that Tank would look for me especially not for the entire 3 years I had been gone. I felt my heart swell and butterflies fill my stomach, and I knew that this was right.

"Thanks, Bobby. I needed that."

"I didn't do anything." He said confused.

I laughed, "I was freaking out about how this would look to you guys and to Ranger, but I don't think it matters to me anymore."

"Good, but just so you know, we would never think badly of you for trying to be happy. We know that Joe wasn't right for you, and we all thought that Ranger would step up, but he didn't. You deserve to have a chance at happiness, Steph. If you think there's a chance that Tank can give you that than you should take that chance. I know he would never hurt you, and if he did he would have to deal with both Les and me."

I laughed out loud at that, I don't know how I had thought that I didn't have any family anymore. These guys had always been more of a family to me than my own. "Thanks Bobby, you're the best."

"Good, now go get ready."

I laughed again, "Yes, sir!"

And he hung up. Seriously, was it that hard to say goodbye to someone?

I took a deep breath and looked at the two dress choices. I decided to wear the blue halter dress that matched the color of my eyes, I knew that Tank's favorite color was blue and this dress brought out my eyes. I slipped it on over my white lace thong and then slipped on a pair of silver FMPs.

I took a quick look in the mirror and was pleased with what I saw, for once my hair had decided to obey me and was curled to perfection without the wild crazy look and I was wearing just enough makeup to not feel naked. Most of the Merry Men, including Tank, never understood why Jersey girls felt the need to hide behind makeup.

I walked back into my bedroom and picked up my silver clutch and made my way into the living room. What I saw there made me stop. Tank was standing across the room talking on his phone and for once he was not wearing black. He was wearing a pair of tan dress slacks and a red button up shirt. The man looked amazing in black, but he looked even more amazing in color.

When he noticed me standing in the room he hung up the phone on whoever he was talking to and turned to look at me. "You look amazing, Steph."

I gave him a small smile, "You don't look so bad yourself."

He grinned and held his hand out to me, "Come on, I have plans for you."

And he did. He took us to a small steakhouse that I had the most amazing steaks and we spent the entire time talking. It was strange to me how at one point in time I had thought he was tied for the most silent person I knew, but now sitting here with him we never ran out of things to say to each other. We moved seamlessly between talking about some of the crazy things I had done when I was living in Trenton to the way he thought of Lester and Ranger's Abuela Rosa as his own grandmother.

After dinner he took me to the Seattle Aquarium which he had managed to get us tickets to a special event they were having for the night. As we went through the different fishes and other sea life he told me stories about some of the crazy things that had happened while he was fishing with his dad on the shrimp boat. I couldn't help but notice that even though he hated his dad for what he had done, he still loved him as well. I couldn't imagine how it would feel to have such conflicting feelings about one person, and I decided not to bring it up.

After the aquarium Tank offered to buy me some ice cream but I declined. I had made a pumpkin pie this morning because Thanksgiving was on Thursday and we would miss it since we would have to leave in two days. So, instead I offered to whip up some fresh whipping cream and eat the pie instead.

When we got back to the house I pulled the cream out of the refrigerator and pulled out my mixer and some sugar. I mixed the sugar in and then set the beaters to whip. Tank was leaning against the kitchen counter next to me watching as I moved the beaters around the bowl.

I glanced up at him before looking back down at the fluffy cream that I was mixing, "Can I ask you a question?"

He reached over and pushed a stray curl behind my ear, "You can ask me anything."

"When I was still in Trenton and Ranger was in the wind, did you watch out for me because he asked you to?"

"Yes and no." I looked up at him confused and he continued, "There was always a standing order to do anything you needed when he was out of reach, but that just included when you had an active stalker after you. When one of your cars blew up, or I knew you were after a particularly bad skip I had to check on you because I had to know you were okay."

I made the mistake of looking into his eyes and I loved that since he had been with me he had not used his blank face except to deliver the news about Ranger. Right now, I could see that he loved me and I knew that he had for a long time, but he was an honorable man and he would never have stepped in if Ranger was still in the picture in any way.

I was so focused on him that I completely forgot the mixer in my hand and my grip loosened just enough so that the mixer flew out of my hand throwing whipping cream all over me but completely missing Tank. I looked down at myself and then back up at him in disbelief, but the moment my eyes met his I stopped breathing.

His eyes were liquid brown and he leaned down and licked some whipping cream from my face before making a sound deep in his throat that made me wonder if that was what I sounded like whenever I ate something I really enjoyed. If so, I knew why the guys were constantly having to rearrange themselves when they ate with me. I knew that the lace thong I was wearing was now ruined.

He moved his mouth to where it was hovering right over my lips and whispered, "Sweet, but I bet I know what would be better."

In a second his mouth covered mine and it was if an electrical current moved through my body. I had never felt anything like it and I couldn't help the moan that escaped my throat. When he heard the sound he put his hand on my ass and pulled me tightly against him and I opened my mouth to allow him greater access.

I was on fire. My entire body was calling out to his in a way that it had never done before. It made the tingles I had always felt when I was around Ranger feel like nothing. It was as if I was standing in the middle of a bonfire and he was the only thing that could save me.

I pulled his shirt out of his pants and slid my hand up against his abs and felt him groan deep in his chest. His lips moved from my mouth and he began to kiss a path down my throat until he got to the spot where my neck met my shoulder and he bit gently before kissing me and then marking me. The exquisite feeling of him marking me as his made me lose what was left of the control I had.

I ripped his shirt open sending buttons flying across the kitchen. I started at his neck and kissed my way down his chest stopping to tease his rock hard nipples with my tongue before moving farther south. When my hands met his belt buckle he stilled and his hand reached down to cover mine.

He groaned deep in his chest and said, "Steph, are you sure? If you're not ready we can wait, but we need to stop now."

I felt my heart swell at his words, no other man had ever stopped to be sure that I was ready when I was freely offering up sex. I looked up and into his eyes, "I've never been more sure of anything."

And I hadn't. The connection we had made in Trenton as friends had only grown stronger in the past week and half that we were here. I knew him in a way I had never known another man and he knew me in a way I had never allowed anyone else to know me. He accepted me as I was and would never try to change me, and he had spent years trying to find me. I knew he loved me, and while I wasn't quite ready to say the same I knew I wasn't far from it.

When he heard my words something in him snapped and he picked me up and carried me into my bedroom. He stopped just beside the bed and let me stand. He reached behind my neck and untied the knot that held my dress up and stood back to watch as the dress fell to my hips. I reached behind me and unzipped the bottom portion and the dress fell to the floor in a pool around my feet.

I'm not a prude, but I have never been comfortable enough with any of the men I've been with to stand in front of them with nothing on. But here I was standing in front of Tank in nothing but a white barely there lace thong and I didn't feel shy or embarrassed at all. The look on his face as he took me in made me feel as if I was the most beautiful woman in the world and I could see that he was almost in disbelief that he actually had me standing in front of him.

I took a step forward and placed my hand on his cheek and said two little words that spurred him into action, "I'm yours."

And I was. There was no doubt in my mind at this moment.

His lips attached themselves to mine and he picked me up again before laying me down in the center the bed. Once I was on the bed he stood back up and slipped his feet out of his shoes before undoing his belt and letting his pants fall to the floor. Seeing him there naked in front of me made me think of the Greek and Roman statues of their Gods. This man's body deserved to be worshipped and I didn't even have to check. I knew I was drooling.

A second later he was back beside me. He gently pressed a kiss against my lips before moving down my throat and eventually landing on my nipple. His tongue gently teased it before his other hand moved to knead the opposite breast. It had been so long since I had, had an orgasm from anything other than my shower head that I could already feel the burn deep in my abdomen. When his mouth latched on to my rock hard nipple and his other hand began to gently tug, I began to see black spots before the orgasm overwhelmed me and I was flying.

When I came back down his hand moved to my thong and I felt it being ripped from my body. He sat up for a second and gazed down at me taking in every inch of my body before he whispered, "You are so damn beautiful."

He kissed my lips once more and then moved between my legs. I felt the fire begin to grow again as he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my clit. The man's mouth was magic. His tongue swept across my bundle of nerves and I felt my hips shoot of the bed. I was begging him in English and I'm pretty sure there was some Russian and Arabic thrown in as well, but he ignored my pleading and continued at his own pace as the fire became overwhelming.

"Please, I need you, Pierre."

I'm not sure what made me speak his real name. I think it was because in this moment he wasn't Tank. Actually, I'm not sure he had been Tank with me at all since I found him in Turkey. He had opened up to me and the man I saw now wasn't the military man who would face down armies without a fear, no this was the real man the man who had lost everything as a child and had grown up to be one of the most amazing men I had ever known.

The sound of his name on my lips caused him groan and he moved so that his cock was lined up with my opening. "Do I need a condom?"

"No, I'm on the shot and I haven't been with anyone in three years."

He let out another groan at my admission before gently sliding into me. Oh god. He was huge and the feeling of him filling me was so exquisite that it made me come again. He stilled his movements and allowed me to come down from my orgasm before he began to move. My legs went around his waist and my hips went up to meet him thrust for thrust. I looked into his eyes and I could feel the connection between us deepen. I couldn't explain it if I tried, but it felt as if our hearts were now beating together and I knew that no matter what I had thought earlier I was deeply and irrevocably in love with him.

I felt the tears fill my eyes and begin to fall down my cheeks. My eyes were locked with his and he moved his hand to wipe them from my face. "I know, I feel it too."

He leaned down and kissed me before he sped up his movements and I felt the fire explode around me as I screamed his name. A few seconds later, I felt him explode inside of me and collapse on top of me. We laid there for I don't know how long before he pulled out of me and rolled me onto my side.

I felt his arms come around me and his fingers gently brushing my curls away from my face. He kissed my neck and lay down next to me. "Sweet dreams, baby. I love you."

I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear that, but as I drifted off to sleep I couldn't help but think that I loved him too.


	11. Chapter 9 - Say Goodbye to Seattle

_A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews for last chapter! I'm glad you enjoyed my smut! This chapter has a little bit as well, but not near as much as the last chapter! I'm also done writing the next chapter so if I can get to 160 reviews I'll post it tomorrow, if not I'll post it Wednesday! _

Chapter 9 – Say Goodbye to Seattle

When I woke up there was light streaming through the windows and Tank was aimlessly tracing the outline of the scars on the side of my stomach. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already almost two in the afternoon. I was surprised that we had slept so late but then I remembered my 2 AM wake up call to him and his 5 AM wake up call to me. I guess I could understand our need to sleep in, and I hadn't felt so relaxed in years.

When he noticed that I was awake he bent down and placed a light kiss behind my ear. "Are your muscles sore?"

I stretched a little bit and shook my head. My muscles ached a little but it wasn't anything I couldn't live with.

His fingers were still tracing back and forth over the scars, "Where did you get these? I don't remember seeing them when you were still in Trenton."

"Take a bath with me and I'll tell you."

He laughed, "Sounds good."

He got up out of the bed and wandered into my bathroom where I had an extra-large Jacuzzi tub. It had been one of the things that made me buy the house and now I was glad I had. He returned a few minutes later and picked me up off of the bed. He carried me into the bathroom and stepped into the tub.

He sank down and I settled between his legs letting the warm water and bubbles surround me. His arms came around me and he held me tightly against him one hand covering the raised skin where my scars were. "So, how did you get these?"

I sighed, "On my first mission, I was sent out to do some surveillance on a mark in Kabul. I was paired with an FBI agent named Jacobson and a man named Damien who had graduated from the Farm at the same time as me. We were both green and had no idea what to expect. We were only there a few days when Damien was spotted by one of our mark's body guards. He was careless and he had gotten too close."

"The higher ups decided it was too dangerous for us to continue our observations so they put us in a safe house until they could safely get us out of the country. The next morning the house went up in flames. Jacobson managed to drag me out and it turns out Damien wasn't in his room like he should have been." I paused. "The two of us managed to stumble half a block before we were drugged and captured."

"At the time I had no idea where we were taken or how long we had been held, but afterwards I found out we were missing for two weeks and we still aren't sure who was holding us. The only thing we know is that the guards spoke Russian."

I was quiet for a minute and Tank began to trace small circles on my stomach, "One of the guards got off on terrifying girls. I think he probably planned to rape me. He put out his cigarette on my stomach. That's what the two round scars are from. The other two are stab marks from when I pissed him off telling him I would never beg him for anything."

I heard him let out a growl when I mentioned the man attacking me and his arms tightened around me. "When I was passing out I could hear someone getting on to him but I never saw the leader. Two days later we were rescued by Damien and a group of CIA and FBI agents. They said they had gotten an anonymous tip to our location."

"When we got back home Damien tried to blame the situation on me and that it was my fault we were spotted by our mark in the first place, but Jacobson and I both knew that the people who had captured us had nothing to do with the mission we were on. The guy we had been sent to watch was Afghan and a local terrorist they thought might be looking to branch out into Iraq. The men who captured us were Russian. Not to mention the person who was spotted by our mark was actually Damien and not me."

"Jacobson managed to get it all sorted out and Damien ended up with a mark on his permanent record and a free trip to a desk in the LA office. Last I talked to him he was pissed off and irritated with me because he didn't think women should be operatives."

We sat in silence for a while. I could feel the tension in his body and knew he was angry that I had been held and injured. After a few minutes of silence, I twisted my body around and kissed him gently, "Don't worry, I'm fine now."

He let out a breath and the tension left his body. "I know you can handle yourself, but the thought of anyone touching you makes me want to hunt him down and kill him."

If anyone else had said that to me I would have been irritated and angry because I knew I could take care of myself, but hearing it from him just made my heart skip a beat. I knew that he was telling the truth, and I knew if he had been in the same situation I would have done the same for him.

I turned back around and he reached beside me to pick up my bath sponge and my body wash. He squeezed a liberal amount into it and then moved it to wash my back before moving to the front and paying special attention to my breasts and my stomach. By the time he was done I was clean but I was also wet in a way that had nothing to do with the water.

When he sat the bath sponge back down I picked it up and turned around to wash him, I let the sponge move over his abs and up to his nipples as he let out a groan of satisfaction. Once I was sure he was clean I put the sponge back down and pushed my body against his. I could feel his enormous erection pressed against my stomach as I pressed my lips against his.

When our lips connected I felt the same fire that I had felt last night and I couldn't help but moan. It was amazing to me how much I needed this man, and how in such a short amount of time he had come to mean the world to me and I would do anything for him.

I moved to straddle his waist and sank down onto his cock. The sheer pleasure of feeling of him filling me made me break our kiss and throw my head back. I took a few seconds to adjust to the feeling before I placed my hands on both sides of the tub and began to move against him.

"Oh god, baby." He grunted as his lips moved to suckle on one of my nipples while his hand played with the other.

The sound of his words and the feeling of his mouth on me made me speed up the rhythm and I could fell the water sloshing around us and out of the tub but I didn't care. I was lost in the sensation of our bodies moving together.

I felt his hand move from my breast and down between my leg to brush my clit, "Come on baby, come for me."

I did, and a second later I felt spill his seed into me. I fell against him breathing heavily and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. This man made me feel beautiful and powerful.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

The rest of the afternoon we spent making love. I think we were both trying to fit as much in to the time we had left before we started our mission, but once six o'clock hit we were forced out of bed to get prepared and pack.

We took separate showers, mostly because I was pretty sure I couldn't shower with him without attacking him again. Then we packed our bags, cleaned out any perishable items from the kitchen, and took out the trash since I wasn't sure when I would be back to the house. After we finished that, I left him to make his last minute check-ins with RangeMan and I went to the local CIA office to get my birth control shot and some bugs to place around both Al Fariq's and Belikov's compounds if I got the chance.

When I got back home Tank was just folding the last of the laundry we'd done into his bag. I watched as he zipped it up and then dragged him back into my room. I was exhausted from the past 24 hours and I knew we needed to sleep tonight so I took one of his t-shirts that we had chosen not to pack into the bathroom and changed before coming back out and crawling into bed. He was already laying there waiting for me so when I curled up next to him he reached over and turned off the light before wrapping his arm around my waist.

I took a deep breath and snuggled deeper into his embrace, "There's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Al Fariq bugs every room at his compound, and especially the guest rooms. Once we get there we won't be able to speak out loud unless it's part of our cover."

"Okay, I guess it gives us a chance to work on our ESP then." He said in a teasing tone.

I laughed. The guys were always making fun of me when I told them that they all had standard issue ESP and I had been left out. "I guess so, but that's not all."

I was silent for a minute trying to figure out the best way to tell him what I needed to say, "When I told you that Al Fariq would expect you to be my bodyguard, I left out what else he will expect from you."

He pushed my shoulder gently so that I was laying on my back looking up at him, "What is it, Steph?"

I sighed, "He will expect you to be my lover."

Tank laughed and I looked up at him in confusion. "Baby, I don't think that I have a problem with that cover."

He leaned down and kissed me, "Don't worry, everything will work out okay."

I smiled and for the first time I felt like it would be. A few minutes later I was fast asleep.

The next morning I woke up to Tank trailing kisses done the side of my neck. I groaned and tried to pull the covers over my head but he just laughed and pulled them further down.

"Come on, baby. We have to get up our flight leaves in three hours so you'll need to shower fast."

I sighed and made my way to the shower. Half an hour later I was feeling more human and holding a cup of coffee that Tank had made me while I was in the shower, if I didn't love him already that definitely would have done it!

Tank picked up the two bags we were taking with us and went to load them in the car while I picked up my phone to make one last phone call to Devin before we went under cover.

"Hey." He answered on the third ring.

"Hey, we're about to leave. Do you have any last minute info to share?"

He groaned, "You're not going to like it."

I sighed, "Then you better tell me so I'm prepared."

"They're sending Damien in to pick up your purchases after the sale since you won't be leaving with them. His cover is that he's one of your assistants, but hopefully no one will even question him and he should be in and out without any problems."

Tank walked back into the living room right as I said, "What the hell, Dev? They know our history and they're still sending him into one of my ops?"

Devin groaned, "I know, okay? I told you that you weren't going to like it. I tried to talk them out of it, but they said that he's been on his best behavior while he was in LA and this is a good way to ease him back into the field."

"I don't trust him. He was going to hang me out to dry last time and this mission is dangerous enough without worrying about what he's going to do." I growled.

"I know, I know. But he would have to be stupid to try anything, he was on desk duty for the past two years because of the last time and this is his first chance to actually get out from behind a desk. If he tries something now he's not going to get another chance."

I thought about that for a minute and I knew that he was right; if he tried anything he would be done with the agency for good. "Fine."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

"Anything else?"

"No, I haven't been able to get any new information about either Belikov or Al Fariq so you're on your own with that."

"Okay, well we're headed to the airport. I'll see you when I see you."

"Stay safe." And he hung up.

I put the phone back down and left it on the counter since we couldn't take it with us. When I turned back around Tank was watching me, "What's wrong?"

"They're sending Damien in as my assistant to pick up any purchases that I make at the sale since I'll have to stay on to do the negotiations for Al Fariq." I said.

"The same Damien who tried to blame you when things went wrong in Kabul?"

I sighed and picked up my purse, "The same."

Tank growled, "Do you think he would do it again?"

"I don't know. I don't trust him, but according to Dev his orders are to meet us at the airport to pick up the purchases and then to leave with them. He shouldn't have any contact with anyone else so hopefully it's nothing to worry about."

He nodded but I could tell that he didn't like the idea of Damien being anywhere near me. "Come on, we've got to get to the airport."

I took one last look around the house and sighed, this place had a feeling of home to me now that it didn't have when I had been here last time and I knew it was because of Tank. I knew that for the next weeks or months we wouldn't be able to talk the way we had been and we would have to rely on our own version of ESP to tell each other things. I loved the connection that we had gained here and I could only hope that when this was all over we would still have it.

I jumped a little when Tank wrapped his arms around me and pulled my back to his front, "We'll be back, baby. When this is all over we can take a vacation and come here or anywhere else you want to go."

"Anywhere?"

He laughed, "Anywhere."

"Then let's get this over with."


	12. Chapter 10 - Silent Communication

_A/N: Well, we didn't quite make it to 160, but 155 is close right? I wouldn't hold out on you guys! :D So, here's the next chapter and you'll never guess who's about to make an appearance! (Okay, you probably could guess!) Thank you to all of you guys who reviewed I hope you enjoy this installment and I hope to have out the next chapter tomorrow but I won't promise since I have finished it yet!_

Chapter 10 – Silent Communication

By the time we arrived at Al Fariq's compound I was back into my Natasha role and Tank resembled the man I had always associated with Stark Street. His face was blank and his whole body gave off a 'don't fuck with me' attitude. When we arrived we were led to Al Fariq's study to be greeted he acted the slave part to perfection. When he entered the room he took in all his surroundings before moving so that he stood next to the only door in the room and he never said a word.

Al Fariq stood from behind his desk and came around to give me a hug, _"Natasha, how wonderful it is to see you my flower. You are more beautiful every time I see you."_

I gave him a small smile as he kissed my forehead, _"Hello, Fariq. It is wonderful to be in your home again."_

He laughed. _"There is no need to be so formal with me my dear, after all we are friends are we not?"_

In my head I told him what I thought of his friendship but aloud I said, "_Yes, we are."_

"_Good, the sale is still on schedule for tomorrow morning. Do you have someone to pick up your merchandise?"_

I nodded, _"Yes, I have an associate who will arrive next week. I will meet him at the airport and he will take my purchases to their buyers."_

Fariq made tsk-tsk sound with his mouth, _"Now, my dear, you know we have men for that. I will not allow you to go to the airport just to make a drop off. No, I will have Pavel take the men to your associate."_

Internally I panicked; I didn't want Damien to meet with any of Fariq's men. I wasn't sure I could trust him and I'd learned the hard way what can happen when he's around. _"There's no need for you to go to any trouble, I can easily meet him at the airport. I know you and Pavel have more important things to do."_

Fariq shook his head, _"No, I will need you here. I have found a replacement for Mohammad, but he is not fluent in Russian. I will still need your services for my negotiations with Ali."_

I groaned internally and I knew I couldn't press the issue, Fariq may deal with me even though I am a woman but he wouldn't put up with a woman who went against his wishes. _"As you wish."_

He smiled. _"Good. Now, we will meet here tomorrow after the sale and I will introduce you to Alejandro."_

I gave him a quick nod and moved towards the door. Just as I was about to reach it he spoke, _"Try not to keep the entire house up with your new toy."_

I could hear the teasing tone in his voice and I had to fight to keep from blushing instead I turned around and gave him a coy smile. _"I will try."_

I led Tank out of the room and across the compound to my room in the guest quarters. The room was exactly the same as it had been when I had found Tank here. It was a decent size room with a queen size wrought iron bed, a small dresser, and a small attached bathroom with a shower.

Our bags were already sitting on the bed and I wished that I could just sit down and talk to him about what had just happened but I knew the room was bugged. Not only bugged but I knew that Fariq would have someone listening to see how I had 'tamed' my slave.

I stood in the middle of the room trying to collect my thoughts, but after a few minutes Tank must have gotten worried because he came to stand in front of me and locked his eyes with mine. In that second I knew that I couldn't talk aloud to him, but I could hear what he was telling me loud and clear.

He was telling me that it would be alright, that he had my back, and that we were together in this. I watched him as he watched my thoughts flash across my face. I knew what Fariq was expecting to hear over his bugs for the rest of the night, but I wasn't sure I could spend the night making love to him when I knew that there were people listening in.

I heard his response as if he had said it aloud, his eyes filled with love for me and it was as if he was telling me it was just him and me. No one else mattered, and he was right. No one else did matter.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine and within minutes I had completely forgot there was anyone else in the world accept him and me. We spent the rest of the night together in bed, we didn't use each other's name but we didn't need to. I could see in his eyes that I was the only person that mattered in those moments together and he was the only one that mattered to me.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

The next morning Tank and I grabbed breakfast in the guest kitchen before attending the sale. I purchased two of the ten slaves available for sell for two of my 'buyers'. Afterwards we made our way back to Al Fariq's office where he was already waiting for us.

"_Ah, good you're here. Alejandro is running an errand for me and will join us shortly." _He said as he motioned for me to take one of the chairs in front of his desk. _"Were you satisfied with the selection at the sale?"_

I nodded. _"Yes, I'm sure that my employers will be very pleased with the selections that I made."_

"_Good, let us talk about the job I have offered to you." _He reached into a drawer and handed me a contract. _"This is the current contract that I have with one of my buyers. Over the past few months he has increased the need for my services and I need you to travel to Russia to negotiate a new contract for me."_

I looked over the papers he handed to me and was amazed. This contract was an actual legal document that stated Ali was buying services from Al Fariq. All I had to do to prove that Belikov was indeed buying services from Fariq was negotiate this contract and get it signed. Once it was signed it should be enough to convince the Russian government to shut him down.

"_When do you need me to leave?"_

He smiled and leaned back in his chair. _"Ah Natasha, if only you had been born a man. I could put you to great use in my organization. You are always willing to do what is needed, one day I may convince you to marry me."_

"_You may try." _I replied flirtatiously.

He laughed. _"I have you booked on a flight that leaves tonight. Alejandro will take you to the airport." _He paused and then gave me a sly smile, _"Alejandro says that I was right about your slave and that you are very passionate lovers. You kept him awake last night."_

I could feel the blush spread across my face, I had known that someone would have been listening to the bugs in my room, but I would have preferred to not know who had done the listening. I tried to blow off my discomfort by replying, _"Are you jealous?"_

The smile on his face grew, _"Indeed, there isn't a man in this world that wouldn't want to be in your bed, my flower."_

A knock at the door saved me from having to answer and he called out for the person to enter. When the man walked into the room I had to fight to keep myself in my chair. I had just found the other army ranger that was undercover in Al Fariq's organization, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

"_Ah, Alex. Please come over here." _Fariq motioned for the man to take the chair next to me. _"This beautiful creature is Natasha Romanoff. She will be doing the negotiation with Ali for me. Natasha this is Alejandro de la Garza he will be taking Mohammad's place within the organization."_

My eyes met his and I while I knew no one else except maybe Tank would see it, I could see the shock in his eyes. This was the last place he had thought he would find me. I wasn't even sure if he had noticed Tank standing by the door. I held my hand out to him, _"It's nice to meet you Alejandro, I hope you enjoy your new position."_

I watched as he took my hand, _"If you are here often, I don't see how I could not."_

Fariq laughed, _"You will not flatter her with words, Alex. I have been trying that for over a year. This one is quite spirited as you heard last night."_

Alejandro nodded, _"Indeed. If I did not know that she was Russian I would assume she had Spanish blood running through her veins, because only the Spanish have such passion in their love making."_

Al Fariq laughed and then changed the subject, _"I have informed Natasha that you will be delivering her to the airport tonight. Is there anything else you need to tell her?"_

Alex shook his head, _"If you have your luggage ready, I will send Pavel for it in two hours. Are you traveling alone?"_

I shook my head at the same time that Al Fariq replied, _"No, I have given her a gift of a new bodyguard to protect her while she does business for me." _

He motioned to Tank who was standing next to the door and I noticed that Alex's eyes widened again almost imperceptibly, but anyone else watching would have missed it. _"I see. I will meet you at your room and take you to the airport in two and a half hours. Will that be enough time for you to be ready?"_

I nodded and stood. _"We will be ready to leave then. I don't think the negotiations will take more than a day or two."_

Fariq nodded, _"Good, I will see you back here when you are done and I will reward you for your hard work."_

I smiled and took my cue to leave. I led Tank back to our room and sat down in shock on the bed. What the hell was going on here? I hadn't seen anyone from my past a month ago and now they were falling out of the woodwork. What the hell was Ranger doing here? And why couldn't the Ranger they had under cover been anyone other than him.

I felt like throwing something or screaming at the top of my lungs. And all the sudden I realized that not only was Ranger here but he had been the one monitoring our bugs last night. He had literally listened to Tank and me having sex. Can we say awkward?

I felt the bed sink beside me and Tank lay down next to me rubbing calming circles on my back. I looked up at him and I knew he was telling me everything would be alright, but I couldn't help but wonder what else could go wrong?

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

Ranger/Alex met us at our room precisely two and a half hours later. He then led us a Range Rover parked in front of the compound and within five minutes we were on our way. The air in the car was filled with tension and no one seemed to be able to come up with any polite conversation that would be safe to hear over the bugs that were probably in the car with us.

Five minutes after we left the compound Ranger pulled a small device out of his pocket and hit a button on it. Tank and I were sitting in the back seat with my hand held in his when he looked back at us through the rear view mirror. "It's safe to talk now."

That's great. Except for the fact that I had absolutely no idea what to say to the man who had pretty much shattered my trust in him three years ago when he wrote me off.

Apparently Tank didn't have the same issues, because he leaned up and asked, "How long have you been under cover in his organization?"

I could tell that Ranger was thinking about rolling his eyes and that this wasn't exactly the conversation he had planned on having, "I've been working my way up his food chain for the past six months trying to get close enough to eliminate him. Then I finally get close enough and am told to hold off while the CIA tries to tie up some lose ends."

I could hear the frustration in his voice and it almost made me laugh. He obviously hadn't added two and two together to figure out that I was the CIA agent that was tying up loose ends.

"What are the two of you doing here? Is this a RangeMan mission, and where the hell did you find Steph?"

For some reason I was feeling more and more like I was being left out of the conversation instead of included in it and I could tell by looking at Tank that he found it was funny. Probably because he knew that it would piss me off.

"This isn't a RangeMan mission and he didn't find me, I found him."

Ranger's eyes met Tank's through the mirror and Tank gave him a slight nod, "It's true, man. She saved my ass when I got captured in Russia."

I could tell he wanted to ask us more but we were pulling into the airport and he couldn't hang around without it looking suspicious to Al Fariq. "How did she save your ass in Russia?"

Ranger pulled to a stop at the terminal for our flight and I said, "We don't have time to tell you the story, if you want to know ask Fariq about his gift to me." I paused, "This time you're going to have to trust me, because right now I'm not sure I trust you."

I watched as a look of disbelief and maybe a little bit of regret flashed across his face, but he didn't say anything. Instead he just got out of the car and went around to take the bags out of the back of the car before handing them to Tank.

Tank grabbed our bags from him and I watched as they shared some silent communication, apparently I might have ESP with Tank but I definitely didn't have it with Ranger. I couldn't understand him anymore today than I could when I walked out of his life three years ago. When they did some manly hand bump I figured the conversation was over and I turned to walk into the airport, I didn't look back at him again. Now was not the time to try and figure out our relationship and I wasn't in the mood to play nice.


	13. Chapter 11 - Russia

_A/N: So, here is chapter 11! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed and are enjoying my story! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! I'm not sure if there will be another chapter this week because I have a midterm to take on Saturday and I really need to spend some time studying for it, but who knows I might find time to put out another one!_

Chapter 11 – Russia

We had been in Russia for a week and a half and I was beginning to get irritated. It seemed as if Belikov had decided that letting us wait would make me want to make a deal that he would like more than the one that Al Fariq had offered him. Apparently, he didn't know me well. After all, making me wait just pissed me off.

Not only that, but I knew better than to go back to Al Fariq with anything less than what he had originally agreed to. It's entirely possible he would kill me just because he was pissed off. No, I would wait as long as Belikov wanted me to.

Thankfully, it hadn't all been bad. I had managed to plant some bugs in Belikov's office so hopefully the good guys were getting something out of my frustration. I had also been forced to eat dinner with the man and his wife every night and he did keep a chef on site. The food was absolutely amazing, but I was lonely.

Belikov was even more security conscious than Al Fariq and he required all body guards to patrol the outside of the compound and stay in dorms close to the gate. I hadn't seen Tank since we arrived and I was desperate to see him just to be sure he was okay, but according to Belikov it wasn't safe for me to visit the guard's dorm.

The last time I had even tried to stray from my assigned room I had been escorted back with a gentle reminder that I could only leave my room when escorted by one of the guards or Ali (as they referred to Belikov). I felt like a high end prisoner, I was stuck in a plush room with amazing food brought to me for breakfast and lunch and the only time I got to leave was for nightly dinner with Belikov and his wife. I was slowly going insane.

"_Ms. Romanoff?"_

I jumped at his words and turned to face the door, apparently I was not aware of my surroundings today because one of Belikov's guards was standing in the middle of my sitting room. _"Yes?"_

"_I'm here to escort you to dinner."_

I sighed and nodded following behind him as he led me through the halls of the compound and into Ali's private dining room. Ali was already seated at the head of the table with his wife sitting on his right side. The guard pulled the chair out and waited for me to take a seat before he pushed the chair in.

Ali looked up at me and smiled, _"Natasha, you look as beautiful as ever."_

I gave him a small smile in return, _"Thank you."_

Our meals always turned into discussions about me. One night it had been about how I had gotten into slave trading. Another night it had been how I started working with Al Fariq and if I enjoyed my work. Last night we had discussed my buyers.

We ate in silence for a few moments before he started the questioning, _"Where were you born, Natasha?"_

I silently thanked Devin for drilling my cover story in to my brain over and over again. _"Novosibirsk, I lived there until my mother died when I was ten."_

"_It's a beautiful city is it not?"_

I nodded.

"_Where did you live after you left Novosibirsk?" _

"_I moved in with my grandparents who were living in London at the time. When I was thirteen my grandparents paid for me to go to a boarding school in Sweden."_

At that time the chef came out and served our dinner. Tonight it was chicken cordon bleu and garlic mashed potatoes with carrots with a brown sugar glaze. After the first bite I was in heaven. I probably would have moaned if I had been anywhere other than where I was.

"_Ah, I went to a boarding school in Spain in my youth. My parents did not approve of some of the friends I had made at home. I'm not sure sending me away served the purpose they intended since I met Al Fariq there." _ He said as he took a bite of his chicken.

We sat in silence for a few more minutes before his wife picked up on the conversation and started rambling on about some new shopping center that had opened within an hour of the compound. After the first night sitting at the table I had learned to block out her chattering. She had a high pitched nasal voice that drove me insane and she tended to only talk about shopping or the things her and her friends had done during the day.

After we finished our dinner the plates were cleared the chef brought in the dessert for the night which happened to be some type of apple pie with caramel drizzled over top. It was just as amazing as the dinner had been and I must have inhaled the whole slice in less than a minute.

Once I was done I decided to bring up the topic of the contract which I had done every night I had eaten with him. _"Are you ready to sign your contract?"_

He looked at me appraisingly, _"Are you prepared to negotiate the terms?"_

I shook my head, _"The terms are nonnegotiable. If you do not like them then Fariq will simply choose to work with another buyer."_

He let out a sound of frustration, _"Well then, I guess I will see you tomorrow at dinner and we shall see if you feel the same way."_

I sighed and followed the guard as he led me back to my room. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

Two days later I was still here and I still hadn't seen Tank, but thankfully I had overheard some information from some of the guards who didn't realize that I was close enough to overhear them. Apparently, Belikov had just had an order cancelled from the government and I couldn't help but wonder if it may have something to do with the bug I had planted.

The best part of the whole situation was that he now had a surplus of weapons that he needed to move fast and to do that he needed Al Fariq's services. Now I just had to get him to finally agree to sign the contract so I could get the hell out of here.

I spent the day watching out the small window in my room hoping to spot Tank, but my window faced the small courtyard in the center of the compound and the only people that seemed to pass through it were Ali's own personal guards and his wife.

By the time the guard came to get me I was beginning to consider counting the leaves on the trees outside the window just so I would have something to do. There was no television in the room and there were only two books both of which were written in Russian. While I could read the language, it gave me a headache to try and translate while reading.

The first week I'd spent trying to figure out how I was going to face Ranger when this was all over with, but even with a large amount of time on my hands I hadn't managed to come up with a good solution for that problem. There were too many unknowns. I had no idea what his feelings were towards me anymore and while I knew he had overheard Tank and I having sex, I wasn't sure if he realized that we were actually together. I also wasn't sure how he would take it when he did realize it.

By the end of that week I had decided to stop thinking about it because it was only stressing me out. So I moved on to daydreaming about what I planned to do with Tank once this was all over with, after all he had offered to take me anywhere I wanted for a vacation. Unfortunately, once I had that thought I realized that I wasn't sure where our relationship was even going.

Tank owned 25% of RangeMan and I knew that he was loyal to both the company and Ranger. At the moment, I was a member of the CIA and living in Washington D.C. How could we have a relationship when he lived in Trenton and I lived in D.C.? I would never ask him to leave RangeMan because I knew how much it meant to him and how much of a brotherhood he shared with the other guys, but was I ready to walk away from the agency?

I wasn't sure. The only thing I was sure of was that I wasn't going to walk away from him. This last week had made me realized how much I had come to rely on the connection between us. I missed the way his presence calmed me when I was stressed out or angry. I missed the way we could sit together and talk for hours about nothing, and I missed waking up in his arms. I was so ready for this mission to be over with.

So when the guard arrived to take me to Ali for dinner I was determined to make him sign the contract once and for all. I needed out of this place and I needed out now.

"_Natasha, how are you this evening?" _Ali asked as I sat down at the table.

"_I am well, how are you Ali?" _

"_I have been better." _ He said as the chef brought out tonight's meal.

Tonight it appeared that we were having prime rib, brussel sprouts, and baked sweet potatoes. The one thing I enjoyed most about eating with Ali is that he preferred American food. I couldn't stand many of the dishes I had been served when I had been in Russia before.

"_I heard that you had a buyer that backed out of a large purchase." _

For a minute he froze. I could tell that he hadn't been prepared for me to know this bit of information and I could see the fury flash across his face when he realized I must have overheard some of his own people talking.

"_You are well informed."_

"_Your people do not pay attention to who is around when they talk." _ I said and then cut myself a bit of my prime rib before I spoke again. _"We could get rid of that surplus for you if you will agree to sign the contract as is."_

I finished eating my dinner without him saying a word. I could tell by his posture that he was looking for a way to negotiate further but he couldn't come up with anything. After all, I now knew that he needed Fariq more than Fariq needed him. He needed to get rid of his weapons and he needed to do it fast.

When the chef removed our dinner plates and sat down pieces of chocolate cake as I said, _"If you sign, I can be in Istanbul tomorrow and Fariq will be ready to move as soon as I deliver the contract to him."_

Ali put his head down in defeat and motioned for one of the guards. The guard brought the contract to him that I had delivered when I first arrived. He took a pen out of his jacket pocket and signed it before handing it to me. I signed it as the witness and then handed him back the extra copy.

"_I will book you on the first available flight and I will send your man to you for your luggage." _He said as he took his copy and folded it before placing it in his jacket pocket with the pen.

I nodded and followed the guard back to the room. Once the door was closed I couldn't help but do a happy dance. I was finally getting out of here and Tank would be here soon. After my happy dance was over I went around the room and packed up my belongings before laying on the bed to wait for Tank to come and get me.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

I must have fallen asleep because it was dark when the knock finally came at my door. I crawled off the bed and opened the door to find Tank and one of Ali's guards. When Tank's eyes met mine I could tell he was trying to make sure that I was okay and that nothing had happened to me because I was doing the same for him.

I looked his body up and down to be sure that he didn't have any signs of injury but other than the concern I saw in his eyes for me, he looked the same as the last time I had seen him. Once he had done the same to me and realized that I was okay he took my bag and we followed the guard to a waiting car that took us straight to the airport.

We had been booked on the last flight leaving St. Petersburg and we got to the airport just in time to make it through check-in and customs. Once we made it onto the plane and into our seats I reached over and grabbed his hand. It wasn't safe to talk here, but I needed the contact with him to know that we were both okay and we were finally getting out of our Russian prison.

I hadn't been sleeping well while we were staying with Ali since I had spent most of my time worrying about Tank and being stuck in a room with guards at the door wasn't the most comforting experience. So by the second hour of our fifteen hour flight I was asleep and I didn't wake up until the plane touched down in Istanbul.

Tank shook me awake when we landed and we silently made our way through the airport to pick up our bags and then out to the passenger pick up area. Thankfully Pavel was the one waiting for us today instead of Ranger. My nerves were fried and I just didn't need to deal with him right now.

Pavel loaded our bags into the back and silently drove us to the compound. When he parked he said, _"Fariq is waiting for you in the study. He has been expecting you."_

I nodded to him and went to meet Fariq.

When we arrived at the study Fariq was sitting at his desk looking over some papers. When he heard me come in he looked up and nodded to me. _"Natasha, I've been waiting for you. Did you get the contract signed?"_

I pulled the signed contract out of my purse and handed it to him to look over. He spent a minute looking through the pages before looking back up at me. _"Good. Now, I have something I must speak with you about."_

He reached over and hit a small button on the side of his desk and Ranger came through the door. _"Alex, could you go to the kitchen? I have a guest waiting there that I would like you to bring to me."_

Ranger nodded and left the room as silently as he entered. My spidey sense was suddenly going haywire. I wasn't sure what was going on but I knew that it wasn't going to be good. I glanced at Tank and caught his eye warning him to be careful. He gave me a small nod to let me know that he got the message just as the door opened and my worst nightmare walked into the door.

Ranger must have noticed something on my face because he gave me a questioning look and stopped just inside the door, but Damien kept walking until he was standing next to Al Fariq.

Al Fariq smiled at him turned to me, _"I'm sure you know Damien, he has been telling me some fabulous stories while you were gone."_

I felt my heart stop. My chances of getting out of this alive were falling rapidly.


	14. Chapter 12 - Revelations and Promises

_A/N: Soooooo….. My muse said no to studying and yes to writing. So, now you have a new chapter! Granted you may not like me very much after reading it since I'm pretty sure I won't have a chance to write another chapter until after Saturday, but you never know apparently my muse doesn't always agree with me!_

_A huge thanks goes out to__** Kim's Mum**__, __**Ybanormlmom, secretblues, dzy53818, Anon2329, emmme3, ShyGirl36, ZanyManoso, margaret aka whymelucylu, Babe Love – MM Love, SapphireJ, georgiagirlagain, babette7, **__and all the guests for your wonderful reviews of chapter 11. I'm glad you all like it!_

_XxTartLoverxX – I would love for you to take my midterm for me! :D j/k! Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Poterwench – I posted a new chapter so you can't hold anything hostage! LOL! Does this mean I get a new chapter of Broken? :D And don't worry, this story isn't coming to an end quite yet!_

Chapter 12 – Revelations and Promises

I felt Tank move to stand behind me as Fariq motioned to Ranger, _"Alex, search these two and remove any weapons you find."_

Ranger gave him a small nod and then moved to do as he was told. He started with Tank and I watched as he removed the gun that he kept at his back but when he moved to the one I knew that he kept as his ankle he left it there. After he finished he moved to me, I didn't actually carry a weapon on me except a small knife and when Ranger's fingers found it he skipped write over it. Once he finished with me he moved to the side and Al Fariq motioned for us to sit in the two chairs across from his desk.

"_When your associate sent a request with Pavel to speak with me, I was not expecting to hear what I heard." _Fariq gave me a look before continuing, _"Do you know who you associate truly is?"_

I watched Damien's face as a smug smile appeared. I suddenly had a sick feeling in my stomach. I had known since Kabul that I couldn't trust him. I had told Devin that he couldn't be trusted and now it was coming true. Whatever was going on here wasn't going to be good.

After a few moments of silence Al Fariq turned to Damien, _"Would you like to tell her before we kill her?"_

Damien gave me a smile that made my skin crawl and then walked around to stand in front of me before running his finger across my face. I made a disgusted sound and pushed his arm away which made him laugh.

"I gave you a chance, you know." He said in English.

"A chance to do what?"

"To choose me. We could have been great together you know, but you never could get over you hang ups from your past. I could have given you the world and we would have been happy." He paused as if he had just had a thought, "Do you want to know who captured you in Kabul?"

I should have been shocked to hear him saying he knew what had happened to me on that mission, but in truth I think I had always known that he had something to do with it. After all, it couldn't just be a coincidence that only Jacobson and I were captured or that we were the only ones in the safe house that day. "Does it really matter anymore?"

"Come on, Steph. I know you and I know how you think, you're more curious than a cat. You can't tell me that it isn't killing you to know I have somehow outsmarted you."

The sad thing was that it was true. It was my nature to want to know anything and everything, and I could feel that curious part of my nature that wanted to be satisfied. Not only that but I also needed to stall for time. From where we were sitting there was no way that Tank could get to the gun he had at his ankle without drawing their attention and Fariq had taken the spare gun that Ranger had pulled from Tank and was holding it loosely in his hand.

"Fine, who captured me?"

He smiled as if he was proud of what he was about to say, "I did, it wasn't that hard and I suppose I should tell you that my real name is Aleksei Belikov. I believe you've spent the last week with my parents."

My mind was going a million miles a minute. How had he even made it into the Agency without someone finding out? How did I survive this long in Fariq's house without someone being warned? I glanced at Ranger and caught his eye. I could see that he was trying to tell me to keep them talking while he tried to sneak up behind Fariq and I couldn't help but think that I had maybe gained a little more ESP than I originally thought.

"I don't understand, how did you even get into the CIA?"

Damien laughed, "My father wanted a spy. He wanted to be sure that he would know if the American government ever got an idea of what he was doing, but you ruined that for me." His face suddenly changed from laughing to furious. "After Kabul, I was stuck at a desk in LA doing nothing but writing reports on international affairs. I had no clearance and I couldn't get any information on anything related to my father or Russian affairs."

"When I finally convinced the higher ups that I should be given another chance they still wouldn't give me any information. Your friend Devin didn't trust me and I know he didn't want me to come here. I wasn't even read in until I got on the plane to leave, and then it was only to know that I was to pick up slaves that you had purchased from Al Fariq and bring them back to D.C. to be questioned. I didn't know you had gone to see my parents until Fariq told me two days ago, but at least I will be able to keep you from turning this contract over to the CIA."

I laughed, "Do you think that was my only plan? You're too late to save your father. I placed bugs in his house when I arrived there a week and a half ago. The Russian military already backed out of an order of weapons from his company and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they take him into custody if he hasn't already been taken."

He let out a furious growl and backhanded me across the face. Within a second Tank was out of his chair, but before he could even lift a hand Damien had pulled a gun from his back and pointed it at me. "If you move one more step I will kill her."

Tank froze and I noticed that Ranger stopped his slow advance on Al Fariq. He couldn't take them both at the same time and if he tried to take Fariq I'd more than likely end up dead by Damien's gun. I watched Damien's face and I could tell he was struggling to come up with a new plan.

"You know that you can't go back now. They barely trusted you to begin with, and you were supposed to return two days ago with my purchases. They will know that something has happened." I said and hoped that it would buy us enough time to find a way out of this mess.

I glanced at Fariq who was still holding his gun loosely in his hand, but I knew that he didn't understand English. He hated American's and the British and he felt no need to learn their language. He relied on translators and I think he believed that Ranger would inform him of anything he needed to be aware of so he was just sitting there calmly observing everything going on in front of him. I guess the good news was that they must not know that he was also an army ranger.

Damien walked up to me pulled my head back by my hair before putting the gun at my temple. "This is your fault. I should have allowed that guard to rape you, but I wanted you for myself. The only reason you made it out of that alive was because Jacobson had a GPS locator on him that we weren't aware of I barely made it out without being caught."

Once the gun was pressed against my head I was terrified. It was obvious he wasn't mentally stable. I locked my eyes with Tank's and for the first time I wished that I had said the words to him that I had been holding back. I did love him, but I had been through so much with Dickie, Joe, and Ranger that I had been terrified to tell him. I was afraid that once I said the words he would be able to hurt me, but the truth was it didn't matter if I said the words out loud it would hurt either way if he walked away from me. I didn't want to die without him knowing so I tried to tell him with my eyes, but I couldn't be sure if he got the message.

I took a deep breath and tried to distract Damien, "So you're just going to kill me? Then what?"

He laughed, "I'll just tell the higher ups that we were all captured and that sadly, I wasn't able to save you or the ranger. I'll kill Fariq and they will call me a hero."

I felt a trickle of fear go down my spine, "And how do you plan to tell them you escaped?"

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion. I felt the gun leave my temple and then I watched as he shot Fariq in the head, killing him instantly. As soon as Ranger noticed the movement of the gun he reached to pull his own but I knew that he was too close to Fariq and Damien would notice the movement. As soon as he saw him, Damien moved his gun seamlessly to take out Ranger as well, but Tank noticed what was going to happen and I could tell from his posture that he was going to throw himself in the path of bullet.

It was what he had always done, he had always had Ranger's back, but in that moment I couldn't think of anything except not losing him. I didn't care what happened to me as long as he went on breathing, so just as he moved to block the bullet from hitting Ranger I shoved my way out of Damien's grip and pushed myself in front of Tank.

Less than a second later I heard the sound of two gun shots and felt a burning fire as the bullet entered my chest. I sank to my knees and heard Tank scream my name in a tone that was so filled with pain that it made me want to cry. I reached in the direction I knew he was and felt him take my hand and shout for Ranger.

Ranger came to stand beside us while taking his shirt off and handing it to Tank who pressed it to the hole in my chest. I coughed and managed to say, "Damien?"

Ranger motioned behind him, "He's down we will send a team back for him. We have to get out of here before the rest of guards decide to check on all the noise. Tank, can you carry her?"

Tank nodded and bent down to pick me up. Ranger moved silently through the house going down halls I had never been through. We thankfully didn't meet anyone on our way to the garage.

Once we made it to the garage he grabbed a set of keys from a peg on the wall and then led us to one of the Range Rovers. Ranger took me from Tank while he climbed into the back seat and then once he was in he handed me back and Tank held me while pressing the t-shirt against my wound.

Tank leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine as Ranger drove us out of the compound and whispered, "Why did you do that, Steph?"

I was beginning to feel lightheaded and I could see black dots along the edges of my vision, but I managed to answer him. "For the same reason you would have jumped in front of a bullet for me."

I looked up into his eyes and I could see that he was scared and that he wasn't sure I was going to make it. I could tell by looking at the t-shirt that was pressed to my chest that I was losing too much blood. I reached up and put my hand to his face forcing him to look at me. His eyes were full of tears but he wasn't crying and I was thankful for that. If he had been crying I wouldn't have been able to hold it together.

I leaned up, ignoring the pain in my chest, and pressed a kiss against his lips. "I love you."

His eyes widened and a few tears escaped, "I love you, baby, but why don't you tell me that again when you're all better. We still have a vacation to take. Remember you get to choose the place."

I tried to smile but the blackness was taking over my vision and my eyes drifted closed. Tank shook my shoulders and practically shouted, "Steph, don't you dare close those eyes."

I tried to open them, I really did, but it seemed as if they were glued shut. I felt myself falling apart and I felt the tears that I had been trying to hold back begin to leak out of my eyes.

I felt Tank move his hand to wipe away some of them. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine."

I wanted to believe him, but I knew it take at least 10 more minutes for us to get to the hospital and I wasn't sure how much longer I could stay awake. "Ranger?"

"Yeah, Babe?" I could hear the strain in his voice and I knew the he was worried too, but the sound of my old nickname almost made me want to cry again.

"Can you make me a promise?"

"Anything."

I felt myself losing consciousness but I still managed to say, "Take care of him for me."

I don't know if he had realized that the two of us were truly together, but the events of today would have proven it to him if he hadn't. I felt myself losing consciousness just as I heard him say, "I promise."

Then everything went black.


	15. Outtake 2 - Tank's Reaction (Pt 2)

_A/N: So, I didn't plan on writing this chapter today, but my muse really wanted to hear from Tank so here we have it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I'm really glad you guys didn't kill me for leaving it there! Now, I must go back to studying! :D_

Outtake 2 – Tank's Reaction (Pt 2)

Our time in Russia had been hell. I had absolutely no idea if she was safe or if she was even still alive. Ali's guards refused to let me go anywhere other than the guard's dormitory, the mess hall, and to work my assigned shift with one of the other guards at the front gate. Several times I had thought about trying to find a way to sneak into the main compound to find Steph, but I was terrified that I would get caught and it would be taken out on her. Instead I decided to just be patient.

Thank goodness I had learned the importance of patience while I was in the army, because by the time I got to see her almost two weeks later, I was about to lose it. When my eyes met hers and I did a check of her body she looked to be in the same shape she was when we were separated two weeks ago. I almost broke my blank face trying to keep from smiling when I noticed that she did the same check on me.

When we finally made it to the airport to go back to Istanbul, she showed me the signed contract and I felt like I could finally relax. It meant that we were near the end of this mission and we would be able to go home soon, and I could hardly wait to schedule our vacation together.

She fell asleep almost as soon as the plane reached cruising altitude and I watched her sleep peacefully, but the closer we got to Istanbul the louder my gut was screaming that something was about to go down. It was something that any army ranger learned to listen to, and while my gut didn't seem to be as sensitive as either Ranger's or Steph's, I had learned that when I did get a feeling they were generally right.

So I wasn't surprised when we arrived at Fariq's compound only to realize that Damien had blown our cover, but I was surprised when he admitted that he had been responsible for her kidnapping in Kabul. When the words left his mouth I saw red. I wanted to tear him limb from limb until he begged for me to have mercy on him, but Fariq had a gun in his hand and I wouldn't take the chance that she might be hit by the crossfire if I started reacted hastily.

But when he lifted his hand and hit her I couldn't hold back any longer. I moved to take him out, but before I had taken one step he had a gun to her head and I froze. I watched as she tried to distract him and keep him talking but I couldn't hear the words. I was watching for any chance he might give me so that I could get her out of his reach. But when her eyes met mine I felt my heart come to a stop.

I could see it in her eyes that she wasn't sure she was getting out of this and I could what she was trying to tell me, but I refused to acknowledge it. I didn't want to hear those words like this, and this wasn't how things were supposed to go. We were supposed to be done with this mission and then I had plans. I wanted to take her somewhere where we could just be together without having to focus on a mission or her past.

Damien was unhinged that much was obvious. I don't know what he planned to do when he walked into this room, but whatever it was it wasn't well thought out. Even as he stood there with his gun against Steph's temple I could see that he couldn't decide where to go from here, but just as I had that thought I saw something come across his face as if he had made a decision. Then within a second he had moved the gun from Steph's head and had taken out Al Fariq.

The whole thing happened so fast I didn't really have time to think about it, and I reverted back to the training that had been hammered into me from my first day in basic fifteen years ago. I watched as Ranger pulled his gun and as Damien moved his to take him out and without a conscious thought in my head my body moved to protect him. It's what I had done even as teenagers in our old neighborhood and what I had been doing for years since we joined up together.

What I didn't expect was for Steph to protect me. It was just as the shot rang out that I realized she had moved to protect me just as I had to protect Ranger. I felt panic seize me as I watched her fall to her knees and the blood began to flow from the wound. I know I screamed, but I couldn't tell you what words I used. All I could think was that she couldn't die. Not now, not when I had finally gotten the girl. We hadn't even had a chance to see where this was going.

She reached back towards me and I took her hand as I shouted for Ranger. He came up beside us and ripped his shirt off before handing it to me to hold against her chest, but even as I did it I knew she was losing too much blood.

She coughed and asked about Damien, but I had already forgotten about him. I knew Ranger had fired and I knew my friend rarely, if ever, missed his target. Ranger answered her and then told us we needed to go so I picked up Steph and let him lead us out of the compound and into a Range Rover where he held Steph while I climbed in and handed her to me once I was settled.

As he sped out of the compound, I held the t-shirt tight against her chest and asked her why she had jumped in front of a bullet for me, but even before she told me that she only did what I would have done for her I knew that it was true. I would jump in front of a bullet to save her without a second thought because I knew that I couldn't live without her, but now that I was on the other side I could see that while she might save me physically if she died I would never be the same again.

I glanced at the shirt that was pressed against her chest and felt my heart stop. There was too much blood. I felt her hand touch my face and she said the words that I had been dying to hear since the first time we had made love, but it was all wrong.

I felt a few tears escape my eyes as I told her, "I love you, baby, but why don't you tell me that again when you're all better. We still have a vacation to take. Remember you get to choose the place."

She tried to smile, but her eyes were drifting closed and I begged her not to close them. Tears began to fall down her face and I wiped them away, but she didn't open her eyes.

"It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine." I don't know if I was trying to convince her or me with those words, but I couldn't imagine any other outcome or I was going to lose it.

She was silent for a few seconds and as she called out to Ranger I could see the struggle to stay conscious on her face.

"Yeah, Babe?" He asked and I could hear the strain in his voice. I knew he was trying to keep it together as much as I was, but I couldn't help but feel a stab of discomfort at his casual use of his old nickname for her.

"Can you make me a promise?"

"Anything."

"Take care of him for me."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth she stopped moving and I lost it. I shouted for Ranger to drive faster and shouted at her not to give up. One of my hands stayed on the t-shirt trying in vain to keep as much blood in her body as I could, while the other went to her neck and thankfully found her weak but still steady heartbeat.

Breaking every traffic law known to man, Ranger managed to pull into the hospital less than three minutes later and as they wheeled her into surgery I sat down and prayed to every God I could think of to let her make it out of this alive.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

By the time the doctor came out of the operating room I had moved on to bargaining. If she made it through this we were going to church every Sunday for a year and I was going to spend the rest of my life showing her how loved she was.

The problem with being in a Turkish hospital was that you had to speak Turkish to understand the doctor. Which I did not. Thankfully, Ranger did and I watched the two of them volley back and forth as if it was the last set of a tennis match. I had no idea who was saying what but I was looking for any sign that the news would be good.

A few minutes later the doctor walked off and I noticed Ranger's shoulders looked a little less tense. "Well?"

He sighed and ran a hand down his face, "The bullet nicked her heart and went through her lung, that's why she was coughing and having trouble breathing. The doctor said if we hadn't gotten her here when we did she wouldn't have made it."

I pushed that thought aside; I couldn't even think of her not making it without falling apart. "Is she going to be okay?"

"He said that he repaired all the damage he saw and he's putting her in a medically induced coma to help her body heal faster. The next forty eight hours are going to be telling, as long as she makes it through those he said she should make a full recovery."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and sank into one of the metal waiting room chairs.

Ranger sat down next to me and continued, "We can't stay here though, we're too close to the compound and they may come looking for us. While they were doing the surgery I contacted Izmir Air Base and they're prepared to send a chopper to transport us back to base. The doctor said she can't fly by plane safely for another week, so we will be stuck there until then."

I nodded thankful that he had managed to keep his head clear enough to even think about that, "Call Bobby and get him there. I want him to be there for every step of her care, he's the only one I trust with her."

"Already done, he should have left Trenton about an hour ago and will arrive at base sometime tomorrow afternoon."

We were silent for a few minutes before I asked, "Did the doc say how long it would be until we could see her?"

"About another hour, they have her in recovery and once they move her to her room they'll send a nurse to let us know the number and I'll call base to get the chopper here."

I glanced at my watch and was surprised to see it was past midnight. She had to have been in surgery for over four hours. I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep until I saw that she was still breathing. I don't know how long the two of us sat there before the nurse finally came and led us to Steph's room. Time had stopped having any meaning to me the second she had been shot.

When we arrived at her room I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my face. She was so pale that her skin almost looked translucent and she had multiple wires going coming from her chest and hand as well as a ventilator tube that was pumping air into her lungs.

I pulled the only chair in the room up next to her bed and took her hand gently rubbing circles over the top of it and watched as Ranger moved to the other side of the bed to do the same.

After a few minutes he looked over at me and asked, "What's going on with you two?"

I looked at her face and tried to decide how to answer his question. We had never really put a label on our relationship, but I knew without even asking her that she was mine just as much as I was hers. But with their history I didn't know how much she would want me to say or how she wanted to tell him. "Ask her when she wakes up."

He nodded as if he had expected that answer. A few seconds later his sat phone went off and he left the room making the final orders to get the chopper here ASAP. I laid my head down on our clasped hands and without meaning to let the exhaustion over take me.

When I woke up Ranger was shaking my shoulder and there were men in fatigues ready to load Steph into the helicopter. I shook myself awake and took the cup of coffee that Ranger was holding out for me. We stepped back and let the men do their work then followed behind them as they moved her down the hall and into the waiting chopper.

The ride to the air base was silent. That was one good thing about being around Ranger. He knew me well enough to know that right now I just needed to focus on her. I didn't need meaningless chatter or useless words that tried to reassure me that she would be okay when we weren't sure that she was.

When we arrived at the helipad on top of the medical center on the air base the men did the same routine in reverse and we were led to a room where they moved Steph from the gurney into the more comfortable bed and hooked her up to the load of machinery in the room.

I didn't even notice that Bobby was waiting for us in the room until the men filed out and I glanced into the corner. Once all the men were out of the room he moved to stand beside her and pushed one of her curls back behind her ear. I knew that he thought of her as a little sister and to see her here like this must have been just as devastating to him as it was to Ranger and me.

He leaned down and whispered something in her ear that I couldn't hear before straightening up and turning to face Ranger and me. "I've talked to the doctor who did her surgery as well as the doctor on base who will be taking over her care and we all think it would be in her best interest to leave her in the coma until we get back to the U.S. It will keep her from having any stress during the transport and allow her body to have more time to heal."

I nodded in agreement.

He turned to look at me and asked, "Where do you think she would want to go? I know she wouldn't want us to take her to Trenton, but I need to pick a location so I can find the best specialists to treat her in the area."

I could tell that Ranger was a confused and irritated about the fact that Bobby had asked me and not him, but at the moment I could care less about his feelings. I looked down at her and tried to decide where she would want to go. I knew it had to be Seattle or D.C. because she had a home in each city where she could spend her recovery time, but I wanted her closer to RangeMan than Seattle. Plus I knew that she was close to Devin and he lived in D.C. as well.

"D.C."

He nodded and left room. I knew the best way he could handle his feelings right now was to have a mission, and I knew without a doubt that he would find the best doctors possible to treat her.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

The week after that was a blur. She made it through the first 48 hours and I now had hope that she would pull through this, but I knew there was no way that I could really believe it until I saw her open her eyes again.

I stayed by her bed and tried to force myself not to sleep, but even without wanting to I slept. It wasn't good sleep and it definitely wasn't restful. I was exhausted, but I knew nothing would let me relax enough to really sleep until we were home and she was out of this coma.

Ranger had almost had to drag me out of the room and force me to eat or take a shower, but as he informed me the first time. He had promised Steph that he would take care of me and until she was awake he planned on keeping that promise.

Eight days after her surgery we were loaded onto an aircraft with 3 medics to make sure she stayed stable during the flight. Eighteen hours after that she was safely moved into her room at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Two hours later they finally began to ease her out of the coma.

Two days later she finally opened her eyes.


	16. Outtake 3 - Ranger's Reaction

_A/N: YAY! Midterm is done! :D This chapter is from Ranger's POV and I promise we'll be back with Steph on the next one! Thank you to all you guys who have reviewed for the last chapter! You guys are amazing and are constantly encouraging me to write more!_

Outtake 3 – Ranger's Reaction

I sat in the dark corner of Stephanie's hospital room watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as Tank slept in the chair next to her bed with his large hand clasping her small one as if it was a lifeline he was terrified to let go of. I couldn't help but feel the irony of the situation. Here I was sitting there watching her sleep just like I had on so many occasions before she disappeared from my life 3 years ago.

I listened to the steady hum of the respirator that she was still on and I couldn't help but think that while she still looked the same on the outside (except for the obvious muscle definition she had picked up) she wasn't the same Steph I had known.

From the first moment I had seen her at Fariq's compound I had seen the strength and confidence that she now had. It was something I had always known she was capable of, but had never known how to show her. I couldn't help but wonder what it was that had managed to change her into the powerful woman she was now.

I had asked both Tank and Brown , as soon as things had calmed down enough that we could be confident that she would make it, what she had been doing for the last three years. But it seemed that even if I was technically their commanding officer, neither one of them was willing to break her confidence. Whatever had happened in her life in the past three years was something that I would have to learn from her and only her.

There was a gentle tap on the door and a young nurse breezed into the room nodding at me and quietly injected what I was sure was more pain medication into the IV in Steph's hand before checking the readings on the various machines around her and walking back out. It was a testament to how exhausted Tank was that he didn't even move while she was doing her work. I assumed now that we were back in the states and the fact that I was here to guard his back made him feel safe enough to finally catch at least a nap.

That was about all I could convince him to do. I had promised Steph that I would take care of him, not that I wouldn't have without the promise, and that's exactly what I had been doing. I forced him to eat three times a week and after almost having to spar him into submission, managed to get him to shower every other day. But leaving the room to sleep wasn't going to happen. When I had tried to make the suggestion that he head to a hotel for a full night's sleep while we waited for Steph to come out of her coma, he had practically growled and me and moved into a defensive stance that I knew all too well. He wasn't planning on leaving this room until she made him or she was discharged.

That in itself had me more confused than anything. When had Tank and Stephanie become so close? I knew that he had always had a soft spot for her as many of my men did, but I could tell from the way he treated her that it was so much more than that. When I had walked into the room the first time I saw her at Fariq's I hadn't been able to keep the thoughts of the night before when I had been forced to listen to the bugs in her assigned room as she had sex with her bodyguard. It wasn't until Fariq had mentioned his gift to her and motioned to Tank at the doorway that I even realized he was in the room and put the two together.

Even then I had put it off as possibly a RangeMan mission I hadn't heard about because I had been in the wind for six months. I was irritated and pissed that the men had found Stephanie and that she had been pulled into this mess, but it hadn't once crossed my mind that there might actually be something between the two of them.

When she was shot I was forced to realize the truth. I knew Tank as well as if he was my own brother. We watched each other's backs while we were wrapped up in the gang life in Miami and then later as we went on mission after mission together. I knew that he refused to pick up a drop of alcohol for fear that he would one day end up like his father and I knew that there were only a handful of people in this world that he was truly close to.

The scream that he had let out when she fell to the ground had been so filled with pain that I couldn't help but move to his side, and I hadn't even realized she was down until he moved to kneel beside her. As we drove out of the compound and to the hospital in Istanbul, I kept glancing back at her through the rear view mirror to be sure she was still breathing, but what I saw on his face made me hit the gas petal even harder.

The man who I had always known to be calm, cool, and collected had left his blank face behind and was wearing his emotions for the world to see. In that moment I could see that he loved her as much as I did if not more. I had never seen the man let out a tear for anything, but his eyes were filled with them now and I could tell that he was barely keeping it together for her.

I heard her tell him that she loved him and I couldn't help but feel my own heart break at the thought, because I knew that I had lost her.

I will admit that the way I treated Stephanie when she was still in my life had been horrible. I would pull her to me only to push her back away the next moment and she deserved so much better than that. I wanted only the best for her, and I knew that if Tank had decided to let his guard down and actually let her in that he would give that to her. He was probably the only person I could see myself losing her to and allowing it.

When she disappeared I spent six months looking for her before I managed to find a clue that I had never even told Tank about. In a moment of desperation I had pulled the log for her key fob and noticed she had entered the building on the day she had disappeared, so I pulled all of the video footage until I found her standing outside of Tank's office. I watched the video as she listened to the conversation inside his office and then ran out of the office without looking back.

I knew without even pulling the audio that she had overheard the conversation I had with Tank about resigning my government contract. When I watched her face fall and the pain that filled her eyes I knew I had hurt her enough. I vowed to stop looking for her and let her have a life without me and without the pain I seemed to constantly cause her by not being able to commit.

And I knew I would never be able to commit to her. It wasn't that I didn't want to. I loved her in a way I had never thought that I could ever love another person, but the truth was she needed more than I could ever give to her. She was light and I was darkness. She was open and I was closed. She was pure and I was tainted.

I had been on so many missions since I joined the army that I had literally seen the absolute worst that humanity had to offer. All of my core team had, and we all had different ways to cope with what we had been through. Bobby coped by saving lives and taking care of the other men. Lester coped by drinking and picking up women for a night of rough sex and Tank coped by meticulously planning each and every take down to avoid losing any men.

I coped by locking myself away.

I kept myself together by having complete control over every aspect of my life. I couldn't let go of that control because I was terrified of what I would become if I did. Lester had once argued with me, telling me that maybe opening up to Steph would allow me to heal from some of the awful shit I had seen, but I didn't agree.

I couldn't taint Stephanie in that way. I wouldn't want her pure spirit to ever know of some of the things I had seen and the things I had been through. So, I did what I could do. I protected her and gave her cars when she needed them. I spent a few amazing nights in her bed, but never anything more. The only regret I had was that I had given her hope for a 'someday' with me that I would more than likely never have been able to give to her.

I wanted to. I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life by her side, but the sacrifices she would have had to make to be with me would have killed the very part of her that I loved the most. I loved her curiosity and her ability to get people to open up to her without even trying. People flocked to her for her open heart and her open acceptance of them.

If she had been with me, that part of her would have slowly died because I wouldn't have been able to open up to her in that way. It would have eventually even ruined the friendship we'd once shared and I couldn't take that risk. I needed her in my life in whatever way I could get her, even if it had just been as friends.

Of course, I managed to blow that too.

Life without her light for the past three years had been hell. She had always been one of the only people to accept every part of me without judging me. I needed that more than I had ever realized. When I decided to let her go and stop trying to bring her back, I had been forced to move back to Miami because everywhere I looked I would only see reminders of her.

It hadn't been long after moving that Ron had passed away. Rachel had been a stay at home mom, taking care of the two kids that she had with Ron as well as Julie. When he died she didn't have any source of income other than my child support, and I had desperately wanted to reconnect with Julie. So I had offered to move in with them and take care of them financially.

At first that's all it had been. I paid for all the kids to go to private school as well as the household bills and Rachel took care of the house. After a while the relationship shifted. She was there and, even though I hated myself for it, I needed an outlet. We didn't love each other, but we had a steady relationship that was beneficial to the both of us.

Now as I sat here and watched Stephanie, I couldn't help but wish things were different. I wished that I had never joined the army and that we had met by chance and been happy, but it was a useless dream that would never happen.

I glanced at my brother sitting beside her and I was thankful that he was there. I wanted her to be happy, and if he was what made her happy than I would support their relationship fully.

I reached down to pick up my coffee cup that was sitting on the floor next to my chair just as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I silently stood and walked into the hall before saying, "Yo."

"We have a problem." Lester's voice said through the phone.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I was exhausted. "What kind of problem?"

"A team was sent in to Fariq's compound four days ago to retrieve both Fariq's and Damien's bodies as well as to take any records they could find." He paused, "Fariq's body was right where you indicated it should be, but Damien's wasn't there."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"There was a pool of blood and then droplets that indicated he may have walked out alive. They don't think he's dead."

I growled in anger. How had I let her down again? I should have checked before we left to verify he was dead, but I had been so worried about her that I didn't do what I had been trained to. Now, more likely than not, she was going to be in danger again.

"I need you to send some men to D.C. We are going to need a guard rotation set up for her room, if he's still out there he may be coming for her."

"I'll have them there by tonight." He said and then hung up.

I walked silently back into the room and noticed that Tank was now awake so I quickly filled him in on my phone call with Lester before letting him know that there would be guards at her door starting tonight.

"I'm sorry, man. I failed to kill him, and I didn't verify if he was alive before I left."

Tank leaned back in his chair and shook his head, "It's just as much my fault as it is yours. We both knew he should have been check and neither of us did it. I just wish I knew how she's going to take it once she wakes up."

I frowned, "Maybe we shouldn't tell her. I'm planning on heading back to Miami to try and track him. Hopefully, Silvio can pick up a trail and I can eliminate him before she gets out of the hospital."

Tank glanced down at Steph before looking up at me, "I won't keep it from her. She has the right to know and she can take care of herself now. I'm not going to repeat Morelli's mistakes by refusing to share information with her."

I gave him a look that told him I didn't agree with him but I wasn't going to argue with him either. I didn't think she needed to know until she was at least out of the hospital, and I was sure I would be able to catch him by then.

Tank rolled his eyes and I was beginning to wonder if he had been spending too much time with Steph. "She's going to know something is up as soon as she sees the guard rotation at the door."

I nodded knowing that he was right. "I still don't think she needs to know, but it's your call."

We were silent for a minute before he looked back up at me and asked, "Are we going to have a problem?"

I knew what he was asking. He knew I loved her, and I knew without a doubt he would never have gone after her if I hadn't fucked up to begin with. "No. We're cool as long as you take care of her."

He looked me in the eyes and I knew he was swearing to me that he would do just that.

I gave him a small nod and walked out of the room. I wasn't needed here and I needed to get to Miami so that I could start my hunt. If Damien thought about coming anywhere near our girl he would end up six feet under and this time there wouldn't be a need to check to see if his heart had stopped beating.


	17. Chapter 13 - Moving In and Moving On

_A/N: This chapter is a little calmer than some of the past few, but hopefully still good! :) A HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you guys are AWESOME and I'm glad that I can entertain you for at least a little while!_

Chapter 13 – Moving In and Moving On

I felt the fog lifting from around me and I tried to force my eyes open. I could feel someone gripping my hand and from the electrical current running through my body I knew that it was Tank. Based on how tightly he was holding on, I knew he was worried and I eventually managed to get my eyes open so I could see how he was holding up.

When my eyes landed on him I couldn't help but frown. He was currently leaned back in the chair beside my bed fast asleep, but even asleep I could tell he was exhausted and I wondered when the last time was that he had slept a full night. I looked around the room to try and determine where I was and was surprised to find Devin sitting on a small sofa on the far side.

He smiled at me when he noticed I was looking at him. "You have no idea how good it is to see your beautiful blue eyes, honey."

I opened my mouth to speak but realized that it was bone dry. Devin noticed my reaction and grabbed a pink pitcher and cup from a little table beside my bed. He poured some water into the cup before picking up a straw and holding it up to my lips to drink. "Small sips. You haven't had anything in your stomach in over a week."

I nodded and did as he asked. Once my mouth felt more normal I asked, "Where am I?"

"D.C." He frowned, "Ranger and Tank managed to get you to a hospital in Istanbul in time to save you, but as soon as you were out of surgery they had you moved to Izmir Air Base in case any of Fariq's men were looking for you. They kept you in a medically induced coma for a week before it was safe to fly you here."

He looked over at Tank and grinned, "That man hasn't left your side. Ranger was here until yesterday and he managed to force him to eat and shower, but since he left the man hasn't moved from that chair."

I smiled, "He looks exhausted. If I can convince him, will you take him to my townhouse for a full night's rest?"

He nodded, "I will, but you'll have a hard time convincing him to go. I thought he was going to start a fight right here when Ranger asked him to grab four hours of sleep in his hotel room."

I watched Tank's even breathing for a few seconds before asking, "What's the damage?"

"The bullet nicked your heart and went through a lung. You're going to have to start respiratory therapy soon and it's going to be a long road before you're back in top shape." He paused. "Are you going to come back to work?"

I knew that he was asking because he was thinking I might want to move to Trenton to be with Tank, but in truth there were other reasons I was now considering leaving the Agency. I had repeatedly told them I didn't trust Damien and yet even after the failed mission that he had tried to blame on me, they still put him into a situation where he could have gotten me killed again. I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of a team that didn't listen to me or my concerns. "I don't know, but I don't think so. I'm not sure what I want to do, but I don't feel like they had my back and I don't know that I could go out into the field without knowing that someone was watching out for me."

He nodded as if he expected this answer then pushed one of my curls behind my ear, "I'll be sorry to see you go, but at the same time you deserve so much better."

His phone buzzed and he grabbed it out of his pocket and read the text message before grinning, "Eli's on his way with some food for Tank and your guards. He's disappointed that you won't be able to eat anything yet, but promises when they clear you for solid food he will make you anything you want."

I smiled happily; I absolutely loved Eli's food. Then I realized what he said, "Wait, why do I have guards?"

Devin looked uncomfortable, "I promised Tank that I'd let him tell you."

I frowned, but before I could say anything a nurse walked in and gave me a surprised look. "Oh! You're awake, let me grab Dr. Marshall."

When she walked back out the door it made a loud click sound that made Tank sit straight up in his chair and I couldn't help but giggle. When he heard the sound he turned to look at me with the biggest grin I had ever seen on his face before he leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips, "You have no idea how good it is to see your eyes open."

I looked at his face and the exhaustion was even more pronounced when he was awake, "You look like shit."

He laughed. "Well, I've been busy worrying about this like blue eyed brunette that was taking forever to wake up."

"Good, so now that I'm awake you'll let Devin take you back to my place for a good night's sleep."

He frowned, "I'm not leaving here until you do."

I sighed. "Then at least tell me why I have guards at the door."

His blank face slammed down and he looked worried. But just as he was about to answer me the door opened and Eli walked in the door with a huge bag of food with the doctor following behind him.

Eli sat the bag down on the small sofa then walked over to my bed and kissed the top of my head. "I've missed you, baby girl. I'm glad that you're alright, you're my favorite guinea pig."

I laughed, "I'll be your guinea pig anytime you want me. Just give me a few days to get back on solid food!"

The doctor smiled at our exchange and came over to check me out as Eli went back to the sofa and began making plates of food for everyone. A few seconds into the check the door to my room opened again and Bobby walked in.

He walked straight to my bed and gave me a gentle hug before kissing my forehead. "You've had us worried, Bomber."

"I'm sorry, crazy people just seem to love me."

Bobby laughed and then grew serious as the doctor finished my checks and stood up to give me a report.

"You've done very well, Ms. Plum. The week that you spent in a coma allowed your body to heal much faster than if you'd been moving around. I need to keep you for the rest of this week, and I want to start you on respiratory therapy in the morning. As long as you do well with that I can probably justify letting you out of here on Friday. As long as Mr. Brown will agree to keep an eye on you for the next week or two."

Bobby nodded in agreement.

"Good, then I'm going to order change in your pain medication to see if we can start weaning you off the strong stuff, but if you need it after therapy tomorrow let a nurse know. It's going to hurt, and suffering is only going to get worse if we don't get ahead of it."

I nodded in agreement. I wasn't a huge fan of pain so I wouldn't argue with taking pain medicine if I needed it.

"Okay, I'll check on you tomorrow after your therapy to see how you're doing. If you need anything for the rest of today then let the nurses know."

After he left the room Eli handed Tank, Bobby, and Devin each a plate before walking out the door with two more plates. I looked longingly at Tank's food and he chuckled. "You'll be able to have some soon, baby."

I had never really liked it when other guys I had dated called me baby. I had always thought it sounded juvenile, but when he said it his voice dropped to what I thought of as his bedroom voice. It was a tone that he reserved for me and just hearing it made my heart skip a beat and a slow burn start in my abdomen. Too bad it would probably be weeks before I was allowed to do anything about that particular issue.

Bobby walked out of the room and came back a few minutes later with a bottle of Ensure. He handed it to me and said, "Drink this slowly, your stomach has been empty for over a week and we need to ease you back into solids. If this stays down then I'll see about getting you some jello later."

I looked despairingly at the can of Ensure and sighed, but instead of fighting him on it I just opened it and began to slowly sip at the chocolate flavored drink.

The next few hours were spent catching up with Devin and Eli as well as Cal and Zero who happened to be the guards in charge of the door for the day. When the nurse brought me a second can of Ensure which was meant to be my dinner, Bobby ushered everyone but Tank out of the room saying that I needed my rest. Once they were all out of the room I laid back against the bed and closed my eyes.

Tank reached over and began to play with my curls. "Are you in pain?"

I gave him a small nod and I felt him push the nurse call button then ask the nurse if I could have some more pain medication. Before asking me, "Why didn't you say anything?"

I sighed. "I didn't want to worry the guys, and while they were here I was able to focus on them instead of the pain."

A second later the nurse can in the room and checked the ID bracelet on my wrist before asking me my date of birth and injecting the pain medicine into my IV. Once she was gone Tank picked up my hand and started massaging circles onto the top of it helping me to relax and focus on something else.

"So, are you going to tell me why I have guards?"

He was silent for a minute before saying, "A special forces group was sent into Fariq's compound to remove the bodies and gather any records they could find. They found Fariq's body but Damien's was gone and there was a blood trail that indicated he may have been alive when he left."

I almost wanted to laugh. It seemed as if the crazy people just loved me so I was sure he would be coming after me once he realized that I was still alive. I wasn't scared, I knew that I could take care of myself and I knew that Tank and the Merry Men would protect me while I couldn't.

It was then that I realized that it was only the Merry Men who were protecting me. I hadn't seen anyone from the Agency except for Devin, and I knew he had only come as a friend. It just reinforced my thoughts that I no longer wanted to stay in D.C. I would miss Devin, but he was really the only thing left holding me here.

I yawned and felt the effect of the pain medication as it made me drowsy. I wanted to sleep, but I wanted to be in Tank's arms. I scooted over as far as I could to one side and patted the bed next to me indicating that he should join me.

At first he shook his head at me, and I knew he was afraid of hurting me. "Come on, you're exhausted and I'll sleep better if you're up here with me."

He sighed but stood up and removed his boots before climbing in beside me. Once he was settled I moved so that my head was lying on his chest and within five minutes I was out.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

The next few days went by without any problems. I did my respiratory therapy in the morning (which hurt like hell) then relaxed with Tank until it was time for my daily exercise in the afternoon. I didn't mind this type of exercise so much because it just included Tank and I walking around the hospital floor and through a small courtyard outside the hospital.

I still hadn't been able to convince him to go to my townhome for some time away from the hospital, but he had at least been sleeping better since he started sleeping in my bed. I still got tired after too much exercise and my chest still burned if I pushed myself too hard, but at the end of the week the doctor agreed that there was no reason I couldn't go home. So Tank and Bobby packed up our stuff and we moved back to my townhome.

That night Eli dropped off fresh lasagna and salad before everyone seemed to disappear to leave Tank and I alone. Tank warmed the lasagna in the oven before cutting us each a slice and adding some salad to the side.

We ate at the table and made fun of Cal and Zero's attempts to try and get the nurses phone numbers on my floor while I was in the hospital. When the food was gone we curled up on the sofa and Tank wrapped a blanket around me while we talked.

"What are you plans? I know that you're probably needed back home. I feel guilty that I've taken both you and Bobby. I'm sure Lester is pulling his hair out."

"He was going pretty stir crazy, but he told me not to leave you." He paused as if he was thinking about something, "Devin told me that you aren't planning on going back to the Agency."

Devin had a big mouth, but I couldn't help but smile at the tone of his voice. He sounded like he was really hoping for something, but he didn't want to let me know what. "Yeah, I don't think I can be part of a team that doesn't really include me. Not to mention the fact that Damien never should have been allowed on that mission to begin with."

"What are you going to do?"

I shrugged, "I'm not sure. I don't want to be in a 9 to 5 desk job, I would be bored out of my mind. I suppose I could go back to bounty hunting. I would probably be better at it now than I was before."

Tank smiled and pushed some curls out of my face so that he could look into my eyes, "Would you come back with me and work at RangeMan?"

I thought about it for a minute. I couldn't argue with the fact that I wanted to be where he was. I needed him like I needed air and I knew that no matter what I said I would end up in Trenton if that's where he was. Not only that, but I was beginning to realize that even though I had thought Trenton was no longer my home, it really was.

After spending the past week in the hospital with Cal, Zero, Bobby, Manny, and Zip I had come to realize that I had missed the feeling of being accepted for who I was. These guys all loved me and didn't want to change me, and I shouldn't allow the fact that I had crappy parents keep me from being with them. Even if other people couldn't understand it, these guys were my family and I had desperately missed being around them.

"Where would I live?" I asked teasingly.

He smiled his 100 watt smile when he realized he had me, "I'm pretty sure that my place is big enough for the both of us."

I smiled, "Are you sure you want to live with me?"

He leaned down and kissed me, "I would like nothing more than to wake up every morning with you in my arms."

We spent the next fifteen minutes celebrating our decision on the couch, but since I was still on restriction I couldn't do the activity that I most wanted to do.

When the doorbell rang, Tank sat up at attention and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Stalkers didn't generally knock on my door so I was pretty sure it was safe. I didn't bother getting up because I knew that both Manny and Zip where on night shift and wouldn't allow me anywhere near the door before they cleared it. A few seconds later, Manny came walking into the room carrying a vase of orchids and placed them on the coffee table. He pulled the card out of the middle and handed it to me to read.

You always were difficult. The next time we meet you won't be walking away. I'm coming for you, and this time you can't escape me.

Based on the looks on both Manny's and Tank's faces, I was pretty sure my celebrating was done for the night.


	18. Chapter 14 - Who Says You Can't Go Home?

_A/N: Sorry that there was only one chapter last week! I had a super stressful week at work and just didn't have a chance to write as much as normal, this week is much calmer so I'll guarantee you at LEAST 3 chapters! :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed or followed after the last chapter! You guys are amazing and are what keeps me going!_

Chapter 14 – Who Says You Can't Go Home?

It was amazing to me how fast the guys could pack up my stuff once they realized that Damien had been in my house before. Apparently that made my home unsafe, and since I had already agreed to move in with Tank he took it on himself to get an army of Merry Men to D.C. to pack up all the things I wanted to take back with me to Trenton and get them into his apartment on 4.

Bobby even helped out. He went to the hospital and Dr. Marshall's office to get all of my medical records from my stay and a referral for the best doctor in Newark to treat my still healing injuries.

So here I was a week later pulling back into the RangeMan garage for the first time in over three years. It was odd how it looked exactly the same as the last time I had been here. The spot that was always reserved for me was still empty and the rest of the garage was full of black Explorers.

The guys had gone ahead of Tank and I so that they could get my stuff into the apartment. I think Tank wanted to be sure Ella had a chance to unpack it all before I got there so that I wouldn't try to overexert myself by unpacking.

It wasn't until we pulled into his parking space next to Ranger's that I realized I hadn't stopped to think about what Ranger would think of me working and living in his building. I knew that Tank owned half of the company, but Ranger owned the other half and we hadn't left things on the best terms. Not to mention the fact that he left the hospital before I was even awake.

Tank must have realized the internal debate I was having because he reached over and tucked a curl behind my ear before making me look at him. "What's wrong? Are you having second thoughts?"

I shook my head, that was the last thing I wanted him to think. "No, but I just realized that I don't know if Ranger would be comfortable with me working here and living in the building."

Tank frowned, "This is probably a conversation you should have with him, but I will tell you that he loves you and only wants what's best for you. He would love knowing that you're here and you're safe."

I knew Ranger told Tank more than he told anyone else, so I had to believe what he was saying. "Okay, then let's go upstairs and see what the guys are up to."

We got out of the car and headed to elevator. As we got on to it, I reached for Tank's hand but then pulled back. Ranger had never wanted to show any kind of affection in front of the guys, because he thought it would undermine his authority. Tank hadn't had any problems when we were in D.C., but it had only been the guys that he trusted the most that were there with us.

Apparently Tank's ESP was working fine tonight, because he reached over and grabbed my hand before pulling me to him. "I'm not Ranger, and I don't care what the other guys think. I want everyone to know that you're mine."

I smiled and even though I had always hated it when Joe had tried to be possessive, with Tank it just felt right. I was his, and he was mine. He leaned down and kissed me letting his tongue trace my mouth until I opened it to allow him better access. We were so lost in each other that we didn't notice when the elevator stopped on five until I heard a long whistle and jumped away from Tank trying to control the blush that spread over my face.

Lester walked into the elevator and pulled me to him before leading me out to the rest of the guys and giving me his trademark eyebrow wiggle, "You know you don't have to settle for the big guy, Bomber. My door is always open to you."

I laughed as Tank growled out, "Santos!"

Once I got a good look around the control room I was amazed. It looked as if all the guys who weren't on duty (and probably some that were) had come to welcome me home. I was passed between each of the men for hugs before I was finally given back to Lester.

He gave me a hug and whispered, "I'm so glad you're home, Steph. This place isn't the same without you."

I couldn't help the tears that filled my eyes. What had I been thinking when I left here all those years ago? This was my home, and I wouldn't leave again.

After that the party became a lot more light hearted. Ella showed up and gave me a huge hug before presenting me with a large chocolate fudge welcome home cake. The guys cut it into pieces and we all sat in the break room catching up.

I was surprised to find that so many of the guys had missed me. I had always been close with the Core Team, but I hadn't expected to see Hal, Hector, Zero, and Zip. After all, I had once stunned Hal with his own stun gun and I had figured he probably didn't care that much for me after that. Zero and Zip I just hadn't had much time with at all. I knew they'd had guard shifts on Bomber Duty, but we'd never really worked together other than that.

Lester forced everyone to get back to work an hour later, and he came to sit down next to me. "Tank and I were talking, and I wanted to know if you would be willing to be my partner."

I stared at him stunned. He was a member of the Core team and I assumed that he would need a more qualified partner than me.

Obviously, he had enough ESP to figure out what I was thinking and he leaned over and took my hand. "Steph, you spent the last 3 years in the CIA and Tank says that you're as good as the guys when it comes to sparring. You have amazing instincts and I would be honored if you would partner up with me."

I gave him a small smile, "But I thought you were partnered with Bobby?"

"I was, but since we've hired more people in the last few years Bobby has been forced to spend most of his time doing medic duties and not out in the field as much. Tank is stuck here doing the administrative tasks now that Ranger has moved to Miami so it just makes more sense for the two of them to partner up. I'm free to be in the field for the majority of my day unless I'm meeting with clients, and all of us agree that we would like to introduce you into that side of the business as well."

I thought about it for a few minutes. I didn't want to be stuck at a desk all day, but I knew that Lester wouldn't allow that to happen. He hated desks as much as I did. Plus, I already knew I trusted him and he would always have my back.

I gave him a small nod of agreement, "I'd love to."

He grinned then teased me, "I'm sure it won't take me long to show you I'm the better man, Beautiful."

I watched as Tank walked into the room and slapped him on the back of the head, "My girl. Get your own, Santos."

I laughed at their antics and my stomach growled. I'd had three slices of cake, but apparently the monster in my stomach wanted something without sugar in it.

Tank laughed and pulled me from my chair. "Come on, I'll take you to Pino's to celebrate your return."

I gave him a smile and kissed his lips. "I love you!"

Lester laughed, "If I'd known all it took was a meatball sub, you would have been mine a long time ago!"

Tank growled and then pulled me to the elevator. I knew that neither of them was being serious so I just let him lead me down to his truck and towards my meatball sub.

When we arrived at Pino's, a hush fell and then everyone pulled out their phones to take a picture. I rolled my eyes and was sure the news would be all the way through town in less than half an hour. Tank just ignored them and pulled me to a booth in the back corner.

One of the waitresses came and took our order and gave us a couple of glasses of water. Tank threw his arm around me and looked around the restaurant. "Are you sorry you came back?"

I shook my head, "No, I'm glad I came back. It just feels like nothing has changed here."

His wrapped one of my curls around his finger and smiled, "I think it just feels that way because you've changed so much since you left. You're not the same Bombshell Bounty Hunter you were when you walked out three years ago."

I guess I could understand that. The things that had once mattered to me didn't anymore. Before I had cared about making my mother proud of me and putting food on the table. Now I had grown up, I didn't care what anyone else thought of me as long as I was proud of myself.

I was still thinking that through when the waitress placed our meatball subs in front of us. I was just biting into mine when Joe Morelli walked in the door. I watched him walk back to our booth and then slide into the opposite side from where Tank and I were sitting.

He stared at me while I continued eating for a few minutes before finally saying, "It really is you."

I nodded, "Yeah, it's me."

"Where have you been?"

We hadn't left things on the best foot, and I didn't really know if we could even call ourselves friends anymore, but I knew that he definitely wasn't someone I trusted enough to know what I had been up to for the past 3 years so I just gave him my standard cover story. "Mostly D.C., but a few other places as well. I was working as a lingerie buyer for Sacs."

He nodded as if this made perfect sense. It just goes to show how much he really understood me, I never would have been happy as a lingerie buyer. "I heard you got engaged and moved to Baltimore."

"Yeah, we came down this weekend for our engagement party and when I heard you had showed up at Pino's I just had to see you to be sure you were okay." He paused, "You should come to the party, it's tomorrow night at Rossini's."

I could tell that he was offering just to be nice, and honestly I wasn't really interested in going. I wasn't sure if we were friends or not, but either way I hadn't seen him in three years and I was sure his new fiancée wouldn't want me to show up to her engagement party practically uninvited. So I just told him a small white lie. "I would, but I start working again tomorrow."

He glanced at Tank, "RangeMan?"

I nodded and took the last bite of my meatball sub.

I think he realized the conversation was a little awkward because he got up and nodded to Tank before turning to me and saying, "I hope we get a chance to hang out while I'm here, I'd really like to know what you've been up to."

I'm sure he would, but I wasn't planning on sharing it with him. "Sounds good."

As Joe left, I realized that what Tank had said before was the truth. I had changed. In the past, when I would eat at Pino's I would constantly be reminded that the Berg was watching my every move. I had always been worried that I would embarrass my mother or cause shame for my family, but now sitting here with Tank that was the last thing on my mind. I could care less what the Berg thought of me, and I had learned to live my life for myself.

As we finished our subs and Tank paid the bill, I finally felt like Trenton was my home. When I had run away the Berg had been my home and I had never been able to break free. Now I knew that the Berg no longer ruled my life.

Tank led me out to his truck and helped me in before going around and climbing into the driver's seat. Once he turned on the car and turned towards Haywood he asked, "I know that Bobby doesn't want you to leave for a few more weeks, but have you decided where you want to go for vacation? I know I said I'd let you pick, but I have an idea if you haven't decided yet."

I shook my head, I hadn't really had a chance to think about it with everything going on lately. "No, what's your idea?"

Tank smiled and reached over to take my hand, "How would you feel about spending a week in Miami with my Aunt? She's been dying to meet you since Lester started telling stories about you years ago, and now that we are together she wants to meet you even more."

We were pulling into Haywood by the time the shock wore off, "You want me to meet your Aunt?"

He chuckled and reached over to run his fingers down my cheek, "Of course I do, you two are the most important people in my life."

I gulped and fought the nervous feeling in my stomach, "I'd love to go with you to Miami."

Once I saw the answering smile on his face I knew I'd made the right decision. Besides, spending time on the beach with him in nothing but swim trunks would hardly be difficult!

We got out of the car and took the elevator up to four. Tank handed me a key fob, "Here use yours to make sure it works."

I held it up to the door and then walked in after hearing the click to indicate the door was unlocked. I walked into the living room and was surprised to find that there were no boxes left lying around. The room had been completely organized and I could now see a few of my things mixed in with those of Tank's making the room feel like it was made for both of us. I knew if I walked into the bedroom I would find the same thing, and in the closet my clothes would be mixed with his all neatly hanging. I love Ella, how did I live without her?

I turned around to tell Tank how much I loved Ella, but as soon as my eyes met his I felt my breath leave my body. His eyes were liquid chocolate and I watched as he stalked towards me, stopping just short of touching me.

"Do you know how amazing it is to have you here and know that when I come home from a takedown you will be here waiting for me?" He said in his deep bedroom voice.

I gave him a smile, "You're assuming I won't be on the takedown with you."

He groaned, "That would be even better."

After that admission he leaned down and his lips met mine as I let out a long moan. I still wasn't off of restrictions and I knew that no matter how much I wanted this to end with both of us naked in bed, it wasn't likely. However, when his tongue traced my lips I opened my mouth to allow him entry and felt the familiar fire fill my veins.

He pulled me closer to him and I shamelessly wrapped my legs around his waist as he lifted me. I don't know how long we stood there making out like teenagers, but I vaguely registered that one of our cell phones was ringing in the background.

A few minutes later I had managed to remove his shirt and the phone in the apartment was ringing. I pulled away from him, "Do we need to get that?"

He let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a groan, "No, I'm offline."

He was pushing me towards the bedroom when the banging came at the door and I heard Bobby's voice saying, "Come on guys, we know you're in there."

I knew I should care, but honestly I was so worked up by now that there wasn't much that would bother me. "Ignore him."

He nodded and started pulling me through the door to the bedroom when we heard the lock being picked and Bobby entered the room. "Damn you guys. Tank, I told you she's not ready for that kind of action yet."

Tank growled and turned to look a Bobby with a look on his face that would have made me pee in my pants. "What the hell are you doing breaking into our apartment, Brown?"

I tried to ignore the way my heart swelled when he referred to the apartment as our apartment, and instead bent down to pick up Tank's shirt and hand it to him. Thankfully all of my clothes were still on, but I hoped the guys wouldn't make habit of breaking and entering or they might end up with a few broken bones.

Bobby sighed, "I'm sorry man, but Bomber's mom showed up in the lobby 20 minutes ago and you guys wouldn't answer any of your phones. She refuses to leave until she's had a chance to talk to Steph."

I groaned and leaned into Tank with my forehead pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and rubbed small circles in the small of my back. "Do you want me to make her leave? This is private property so she can't stay if she's asked to leave."

I took a deep breath and forced myself out of his arms. "No, let's just get this over with. She won't leave me alone until she's had a chance to say whatever it is she wants to say, and I'm not running away again."

Tank nodded and tucked his shirt back into his cargos. The two of them led the way to the elevator and Bobby hit the button for 1 where the main lobby and a small conference room were.

He took my hand and said, "I had the guys put her in conference room 1. I'll be right outside the door and if you want me to make her leave just let me know. I'm sure the big guy isn't going to leave your side."

Tank gave a small nod of agreement.

We paused outside the door to the conference room and Bobby moved to stand by one side of the door while Tank took my hand and kissed my palm, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I nodded and pushed the door open with one hand while letting him keep hold of the other. I knew I would probably need his strength to get through this.

As soon as my mother saw me started in on me. "Stephanie Michelle Plum, who do you think you are to disappear without a word for three years and then reappear at Pino's without even letting your family know you're in town? Ms. Kowalski's daughter Marilyn, would never leave her family without a word and not make any contact with them for over three years. What will the neighbor's think?"

I sighed. I think a part of me was hoping that for once she would be a mother to me and as soon as she saw me envelope me in a hug and apologize for all her past behavior. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen. "When I walked out of your house the day before grandma's funeral I told you I would never step back into that house. You are not my family anymore."

Her eyes lit up with anger, "You can't just disown your family, Stephanie. Whether you like it or not we are your blood and you can't change that."

Tank squeezed my hand in support as I said, "There are things stronger than blood, Helen. I chose my own family and they support me even if they don't agree with my choices. They stand by me and they would give their life for me. Would you do that?"

She rolled her eyes as if my statement made no difference to her. "You need to come home now, Joseph has moved on and is engaged to be married. You'll have to settle for Eugene Taliaferro or Victor Morelli. Neither one of them is the catch that Joe was, but you're too old to be picky now. You'll have to take whichever of them is willing to be with you after your hideous behavior."

I just stared at her as if she was an alien. Did she seriously just come here to tell me that I needed to settle for the guys no one else wanted and get married to have little Berg babies? After a few minutes of silence I managed to find my voice. "No."

She blinked, "What do you mean, no? You've got no other options left."

Tank who had otherwise stayed silent behind me, growled, "She has plenty of choices"

She glanced at our linked hands and her eyes widened at the implication. "But… But he's… You can't be serious!"

I knew what she was thinking I could see it flying across her face; she couldn't believe that I would be with a black man. I felt my temper rise and I moved to stand in front of her. "That man is the most honorable and amazing man I've ever met. You can insult me all you want, but if you say another negative word about him or any of the men here I will hunt you down and make you regret it."

She stepped back and sighed, "Stephanie, be serious. He'll never marry you and you'll never have your own home or your own children."

I felt like screaming, but as I looked at her I realized that she knew nothing else. Her whole world revolved around making my dad dinner and having it on the table by 6. It was how she measured her success, and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. "I'm sorry you can't understand me, but I would never be happy with that life. I was made to fly and staying at home cooking dinner for my family and taking care of my kids would cage me."

She was silent for a few seconds before finally saying, "It's your choice, Stephanie. If you choose to stay here then you will be dead to your family."

I shook my head sadly, "I made my decision when I walked out of your house three years ago. I won't change just because you don't approve of my life."

She didn't even say another word to me. She just walked out and never looked back.

I felt like I should be crying, but the truth was I had done that when I left three years ago. When I decided to move back I never had thought we would become the family I'd always wanted, so this came as no surprise to me.

Tank tugged on my hand and pulled me to his chest then leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You and me."

I smiled. It was the same thing I had felt him telling me while we were at Fariq's compound and it was true. As long as I had him everything would be okay.

I leaned up and with my lips almost touching his I said, "You and me."

Then I pressed my lips to his.


	19. Ch 15 - A Necklace, a Bracelet, & a Skin

_A/N: Yay! Another chapter! :D Thanks to all you amazing people who reviewed the last chapter and/or followed the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!_

_XxTartLoverxX – I hope you don't burn any pizza reading this chapter! :)_

Chapter 15 – A Necklace, a Bracelet, and a Skin

I sat across from Bobby's desk with Lester beside me as he looked down at the test results from my most recent doctor's visit as well as the results from my RangeMan entry tests I'd been forced to go through this morning. It was kind of humorous that I was patiently waiting for Bobby to give me my decision while Lester was the one bouncing impatiently in the chair beside me.

The last three months had been hell. Bobby had gotten me back into shape, but my lung had given me a lot of trouble for the first month and I had caught a chest cold that put me back a few weeks. Tank had been great during the whole process and had spent time with me on the mats to help me get back into shape faster after my cold passed and Bobby and Lester had been trading off days to help me get up to RangeMan standards so that I would be allowed into the field.

I had unfortunately been stuck at my desk doing searches and administrative work for Tank since I wasn't allowed to do anything else, but today was the big day. Bobby finally looked up from the stack of papers in front of him and glanced at me and Lester.

Apparently Lester didn't think he was fast enough, "Come on, man! Did she pass?"

Bobby laughed. "Yes, she passed. She's officially allowed into the field."

Lester jumped out of his chair and picked me up out of mine to swing me around in a circle. "Let's go celebrate, Beautiful! Would you like to go grab a skip with me?"

He sat me down and I gave him a quick hug. "I'd love to! Let me go check in with Tank and let him know we're going out. I'll meet you at the elevator."

He nodded in agreement and then turned to Bobby to ask him a question about one of the other guys which should be coming off of restriction soon.

I made my way up the stairs and onto the fifth floor where Tank's office was. When I walked in he gave me a hundred watt smile and pushed his chair out from under his desk to allow me to sit in his lap. I took the invitation and sat down as he wrapped his arms around me.

"What did Bobby say?"

I smiled; I knew Bobby had refused to tell him if I passed because he wanted to be the one to tell me. "I'm officially field ranked!"

He laughed, "I hope the skips are ready for you!"

"Lester and I are headed out to celebrate; we're going to pick up a skip."

"Okay, I have some paperwork to finish up anyway so I will probably be here a while." He paused, "Since you're officially field ready, would you like to go to Miami this weekend."

I smiled excitedly and ignored the nervous feeling in my abdomen. "I'd love to!"

He smiled, "I'll book us a flight, and let Ranger know we'll be in Miami next week. Be careful."

"I will be." I jumped out of his lap and gave him a quick kiss before walking out of the office and meeting Lester at the elevator.

He was waiting for me and as soon as I saw him he handed me a file which I assumed was for our skip. "Ready to hit the road?"

I nodded and followed him down the stairs and to our waiting Explorer. As he drove to the skip's house I read the file. Our skip was Tommy Gomez, he had been arrested after robbing a drug dealer at gun point and stealing his entire stash of coke. He had a previous history of domestic violence, possession of narcotics, and carrying concealed without a license. Not an overly nice guy, but definitely not one of the worst I'd seen.

As I finished the file Lester pulled up outside the skip's house. There were two cars parked in the driveway and considering it was past 5:00 there was a good chance he was inside. I looked over at him, "How do you want to handle this?"

"This guy isn't the smartest guy ever, Bobby and I have brought him in before. Let's try a distraction. Go up to the door and tell him you have a flat and see if you can lead him around the car and I'll grab him."

I nodded and we climbed out of the car. Thankfully I hadn't put on my RangeMan uniform this morning because I had the test so I was wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a racer back workout tank. It probably looked like I had just come out of the gym. I pulled my gun from my back and pushed it under the seat. There's no way I could hide it with this outfit and I'm sure the skip wouldn't follow me if I was obviously armed.

I shut the door to the car and glanced back at Lester who gave me a thumbs up to indicate he was ready. I walked up to the door and rang the bell. I could hear someone stumbling around inside and a few minutes later Tommy opened the door obviously high on something.

He looked me up and down before and winking, "What is such a pretty lady doing on my doorstop?"

I mentally rolled my eyes and pulled out my best airhead voice, "I think I have a flat, but I don't know where my jack is to fix it. Could you help me out?"

His eyes landed on my chest and I had to resist the urge to inform him of where my eyes were. "Sure, honey. Lead the way."

I turned and led him to the Explorer. Once we were there Lester came up behind him and had him in cuffs before he even realized what had happened.

Lester and I hauled him into the back seat and secured him as he called us every name he could think of. As soon as we were both in our seats he cranked up the radio to cover the sounds of Tommy's complaining and headed to the police department.

When we got to the cop shop we unloaded Tommy and I handed him off the uniform at the door while Les went in to get our body receipt. Ten minutes later he climbed back into the Explorer and turned to me, "I knew we'd make great partners! How about I take you to Shorty's to celebrate?"

My stomach let out a growl of approval and I laughed, "Obviously, that sounds like a wonderful idea!"

When we entered Shorty's, I couldn't help but feel like I was finally free. I had been stuck in the building since I had returned mostly because the guys had been unable to find any trace of Damien and they wanted to keep my location unknown until I'd had a chance to heal from my injuries. So being out of the building today, even for a short period, was amazing.

Les picked a table at the back and sat with his back against the wall. When the waitress arrived he ordered us a large supreme and a couple of sodas and I laughed as he watched her leave. "Are you ever going to settle down, Les?"

He laughed, "When I find a woman half as great as you, I'll think about it."

I rolled my eyes, "You do realize you would have to spend more than one night with her to know anything at all about her, right?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at me in true Les fashion, "Beautiful, if she can't hold my attention for more than one night she's obviously not the one for me."

I sighed and gave up the argument. I think Les would always be moving between women. "Have you talked to Ranger lately?"

Les shook his head, "No, he's been busy and hasn't even been checking in with Tank as much as usual, and he's been in and out of Miami."

Ranger hadn't once called me, and I wasn't really sure what to think of that. I was working for his company and living in his building, but he had never once stepped into the building in Trenton since I had moved in. Based on what some of the guys had told me, before I had moved into the building he had made trips to check in at least every other month.

"Tank and I are going to Miami this weekend."

Lester gave me a smile, "Are you going to meet Tia?"

I nodded, "I wasn't sure if I should be worried about how Ranger would react to me being there."

Lester frowned, "Don't let him get you down, Beautiful. I'm not sure why he hasn't chosen to speak to you since you got back, but I do know he loves you and would never want you to be uncomfortable around him."

I watched as the waitress walked over to our table and sat our pizza down. We both dug in as I thought about what Lester had said. While I knew that I no longer loved Ranger in the romantic way, I couldn't help but be hurt by the fact he hadn't even stayed at the hospital long enough for me to wake up before he took off for Miami. For weeks after I moved back to Trenton, I had assumed he would stop by and check on me and a part of me wanted us to have the same deep friendship that we had once had, but his silence forced me to realize that he may not feel the same as I did.

Lester noticed that I was beginning to become depressed and he decided to change the subject, "When you get to Miami you have to tell Abuela Rosa to make you empanadas. Then be sure to bring me back some."

I laughed, "Am I allowed to try them or should I bring them all back for you?"

He pretended to think about it, "I guess you could have one or two, but just remember to bring some back for your partner."

I laughed at his effort to cheer me up, but I couldn't help but wonder if Tank's Aunt and Lester's Abuela would approve of my relationship with him, or if they would feel the same way as my own mother had. I knew they were the only people left, other than Ranger, Lester and Bobby, that he thought of as family and I wouldn't want to put him in a position to have to choose between them and me.

Apparently Lester's ESP picked up on my line of thinking and he reached across the table to grab my hand and force me to look at him. "Don't think like that, Tia and Abuela already love you and I know they will both love you even more once they actually meet you. It's impossible to not see how happy you make Tank and how happy he makes you. That's all they have ever wanted for him, and for a lot of years none of us were sure he would ever be able to open up enough with anyone to have that kind of happiness. We're all thrilled for you guys, and while I wish I'd had a chance to show you I was the better man, I know I wouldn't have stood a chance. The two of you have a connection anyone can see and only hope to find in their own relationship."

I felt my nerves dissipate and I gave him a small smile, "Thanks, Les."

He grinned, "No problem, after all we're partners now so we have to look out for each other and I wouldn't let you go to Miami if I thought you'd get hurt."

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

When we arrived back at Haywood, Hal was waiting for us in the garage. "You got a package while you were gone."

I groaned. I could tell from the way he said it that it was probably not a package I wanted. Lester and I followed him into the elevator and up to the fifth floor.

He motioned for us to go to the conference room next to Tank's office, "It's in there. Bobby and x-rayed it to be sure there wasn't anything harmful in it, but they didn't want to open it without you."

I smiled. If Ranger had been here the package would have been opened and he would have dealt with my anger about being left out later, but Tank knew me and always respected my wishes. He knew I would want to be included and he had waited for me.

We entered the room and the guys looked up at us. Bobby moved so I could stand next to Tank and the box, "I can tell you there's nothing hazardous in there, but I don't know what's actually in the box."

I sighed and looked down at it. It was a small plain brown box that was addressed to me at RangeMan's address with no return address. It didn't look particularly dangerous, but I'd had enough stalkers over the years to know that sometimes the things that looked the safest were the ones that were the most dangerous.

Tank handed me his pocket knife and I sliced the tape on the top and sides that was holding the box closed and handed him his knife back. I slowly opened the box and removed the items inside. There was a diamond necklace, an animal skin, a leather weaved bracelet, and a letter. I picked up the letter and opened it.

You know how much I love games. I will admit it took me a while to figure out where you had disappeared to, but in my defense you always did say you would never return home. I hope you enjoy my presents, I'll see you soon.

Tank looked over the collection of items I had taken out of the box, "Does this stuff mean anything to you?"

I reached over and picked up the necklace, "I told you I dated Damien for a little bit while we were still at the Farm and until the mission I was on with him went bad. He gave me this necklace as a graduation present. I threw it at his head when I broke up with him after the mission in Kabul."

Lester reached around me and picked up the leather bracelet, "What about this?"

I reached out and grabbed it letting my fingers run across it. I knew exactly when I had lost it and finding it now almost made me want to lose the pizza which I had just inhaled with Lester. I felt Tank move his hand to my back in silent comfort and I sighed. "When we left the Farm we were given a mentor. I got paired with an agent who was extremely well known and Damien was always jealous about it."

I paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "My mentor and I were close and when I finished my training with him he gave me this bracelet that he made for me. I wore it all the time, and it used to drive Damien crazy because he would swear that something was going on between us even though there wasn't. When I was captured in Kabul the bracelet disappeared."

These three guys knew the whole story of that mission, and I watched as they realized that he had taken if from me when he had held me captive. I felt Tank tense beside me and I leaned back into his embrace to try and tell him that I was fine.

The room was silent for a few minutes as the guys worked on getting a handle on their tempers. Eventually Bobby reached over and picked up the last item. "I know this is an animal skin, possibly a deer skin, but why did he send it to you?"

I looked at it and felt my dinner begin to fight to stay down and little black dots appear in my vision. Tank reached over and forced me to sit in one of the chairs next to the table before forcing me to put my head between my knees. "Breathe, baby. Push against my hand."

He kept repeating calming words in my ear and eventually I managed to calm down enough to sit back up. He watched me for a minute then handed me a soda that one of the guys must have run to get. I popped it open and took a small sip before sitting it down on the table.

"At the Farm, we would have the nights off from classes and training. We weren't allowed to leave the grounds so a lot of the guys came up with a game." I paused. "The game was to think of the worst possible way to kill someone."

Bobby's eyes looked down at the animal skin in his hands and it looked like he may have realized where this was going.

"I refused to play after the first night, and in all truth they didn't want me to play anymore because I refused to find horrible ways to kill people. On the last night they came up with silly rewards for each other and Damien won the most torturous death award. He took his idea from an ancient Egyptian practice where they would place a wet animal skin over a person's face a secure it. As the skin dried it would shrink and there would be less and less air until the person was suffocated."

I heard Lester and Tank swear under their breath as they realized he was promising to kill me this way. Lester reached over and squeezed my shoulder, "Don't worry, Steph. We won't let him anywhere near you."

I tried to give him a small smile, but in truth I knew that while these guys would do everything in their power to protect me there was no way they could promise to keep me safe. My history showed that even when I was best protected I had managed to be taken or confronted by my stalkers.

Bobby gathered the items and put them back in the box before picking it up, "I'm going to take these to Zip and see if he can get some fingerprints or anything to indicate where they were shipped from. I'll be sure you get the bracelet back."

After he left Lester bent down and gave me a hug, "It will be okay, Beautiful. Go to Miami and relax, we'll take care of you."

I kissed his cheek, "I know you will."

He walked out leaving Tank and I sitting in the conference room alone. He reached up and tucked one of my stray curls behind my ear, "Are you okay?"

I gave him a small smile, "I will be. I'm definitely ready for a vacation."

He smiled, "Good, I have us booked on a flight that will leave Friday night and I have plenty of ways to keep your mind off of this while we're down there."

I gave him a real smile at that, I'm sure I would enjoy any way he chose to keep my mind off of Damien.


	20. Chapter 16 - Acceptance (Miami Part 1)

_A/N: Oops! I meant to post this earlier but I forgot! We're finally hitting Miami! Thank you to everyone who reviewed or followed after the last chapter. You guys are amazing!_

_Just for reference, the italics in this chapter are all words spoken in Spanish._

Chapter 16 – Acceptance (Miami Part 1)

I woke up to light streaming through the windows and an empty bed. I was briefly confused because I knew I wasn't in our apartment but my foggy brain couldn't figure out where exactly I was. Thankfully, Tank walked into the bedroom at just that moment dressed in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts and covered in a thick sheen of sweat.

I licked my lips and looked him up and down before he laughed and said, "Not now, baby. We have plans this morning, remember?"

I felt the fog clear from my brain and then I remembered we had arrived at the RangeMan Miami building late last night. I stretched and felt a pleasant soreness that reminded me of Tank's need to christen his Miami apartment. I felt the smile spread across my face and decided he must have realized I had more than enough exercise last night and allowed me to sleep in.

He walked around to my side of the bed and bent down to kiss me. "Are you going to get out of bed, or are you going to Tia's house like that?"

My eyes widened as I remembered that we were supposed to be meeting his Tia at her house for breakfast this morning. "I'm getting up!"

Tank laughed as I jumped out of the bed and ran into the bathroom. I took care of my personal business then took a quick shower. An hour later I left the bathroom thankful that my hair had decided to behave in this intense humidity.

Tank was sitting on the couch freshly showered and dressed; I could only assume he had either gone to the gym or one of the other guy's apartments since I had been hogging ours. When he saw me he smiled and put down the files he had been reviewing. "Ready to go?"

I looked down at my blue sleeveless sundress and white strappy sandals, "Is this alright?"

I could tell he wanted to roll his eyes, but instead he walked up and kissed my forehead. "You're beautiful. Stop worrying so much."

I sighed and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go."

He led me to the elevator and pressed the button to take me to the garage. The RangeMan Miami building was twice the size of the Trenton office and had 10 floors. Tank and Ranger split the 10th floor into two separate penthouses. I had yet to get a full tour but I knew the 7th, 8th, and 9th floors were all employee apartments, the 6th floor was the medic's office and housekeeper's office, and the rest of the building was mirrored to the Trenton office.

When we arrived at the garage he led me to a black Shelby convertible. I sat down in the butter soft leather seats and sighed. When Tank turned on the car and we sped out of the parking lot I moaned, this was even better than Ranger's turbo.

Tank laughed, "Like the Shelby?"

I smiled and nodded watching as the palm trees and beach zoomed past the windows. "Are we going to spend any time at the beach?"

"Do you really think I'd pass up a chance to see you in a bikini?" He asked. "We're only spending a couple of days in Miami to visit with Tia. I thought after that we'd go down to the Keys. Lester, Bobby, and I bought a house down there a few years ago as a place to go to decompress. It's right on the beach and there's plenty of clubs and restaurants close by."

"That sounds amazing."

He grabbed my hand and kissed my palm as he pulled into the driveway of a small blue house. "We're here."

I took a deep breath to settle my nerves and then climbed out of the car. We walked to the front door and Tank squeezed my hand in reassurance as he rang the doorbell.

A few seconds later the door was opened by a small black woman with a bright turquoise dress and matching scarf around her head. She smiled at me and pulled me from Tank's grasp as she enveloped me in her arms. "Stephanie, I've heard so much about you. I'm so glad my boy has finally brought you to meet me."

As I pulled back I couldn't help but notice that she had the same eyes as Tank. They sparked with excitement and happiness at the moment and I could help but smile back at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Sherman."

She tsked and pulled us into the house. "Call me Tia, everyone around here does."

She led us to the kitchen and I could already smell the amazing scents of what I knew would be a wonderful breakfast. Tia motioned for us to take seats at the small table in the eating area attached to the kitchen.

"How are you feeling, Stephanie? Has Pierre been taking good care of you?" She asked as she began to pile food on plates refusing my offer of help.

I smiled at her use of his name. To me he was always Pierre, but I had learned not to call him that in front of the guys because I knew he wasn't comfortable with it. "He has taken amazing care of me. He treats me like a princess."

Tank reached over and played with a few of my curls, "I take care of her as much as I can, Tia. But Steph is very independent."

His aunt laughed, "Good. You would get bored quickly with a woman who refused to challenge you."

She walked to the table with two plates loaded with eggs, bacon, fruit, and what appeared to be homemade cinnamon rolls. She sat down in a chair across from us after filling up our coffee mugs and I took a bit of the cinnamon roll. The warm gooey flavor hit my tongue and I knew I moaned, but it had to have been the best cinnamon roll I'd ever had.

I heard Tank laugh and opened my eyes to find both of them staring at me with smiles on their faces. I blushed and said, "Sorry."

Tia reached across the table and patted my hand, "Don't be sorry, dear. Every cook wants to know their food is appreciated and you just made my day."

For the rest of breakfast, Tia told Tank all the news of the neighborhood. I tried to keep up but gave up eventually since I didn't have a clue who most of the people were they were talking about. Once we finished our food I helped her clear the table and then wash the dishes refusing her offer of relaxing and Tank went off to fix a shelf that Tia had complained was coming loose.

While we were alone she reached over and took my hand while forcing my eyes to meet hers, "I'm so thankful for you, dear. After Pierre came to live with me I watched as he closed himself off from anything and anyone other than the boys, Abuela Rosa, and me. Rosa and I watched and hoped that one day he would meet someone who would let him finally open up after the loss of his mother and sister, but we were beginning to lose hope."

She paused and looked out the back window into a small garden. A few seconds later she continued, "When Lester began telling Rosa and I about your adventures we could tell that Carlos was in love with you, but he is damaged and we both knew he would never be able to open up to another person freely enough to give into that type of love. The first time we heard Pierre talk about you, I knew he had finally met his match. When you disappeared I was worried he would never be the same again."

I felt tears fall down my face, "I'm sorry. I never should have left like that, I was hurting and I wasn't thinking clearly, but once I got over my grandmother's death I should have realized the guys would worry about me."

She patted my cheek, "I think you needed that time to grow, dear. God has a plan for us all, and that was part of yours."

We finished the dishes and she led me into the living room to sit on a large brown leather couch. "When Pierre walked in my door today he was completely different than the last time I saw him. I can tell he's opened up to you and as I watched the two of you during breakfast, you seem to gravitate to one another."

She took a sip of her coffee and continued, "You are exactly what he needs, and I just want to thank you for bringing him back. I can see how much you love him just by the way you look at him, and I know the two of you will have a very happy life together."

I smiled I wasn't sure what to say to her thanks, but I knew there was one thing I could reassure her about. "I didn't do anything; he brought me back home and reminded me who my family really was. He saved me as much as I saved him."

She smiled a brilliant smile that reminded me of Tank's, "Rosa will be thrilled to meet you and see Pierre."

At that moment Tank came back from the back bedroom where he had been fixing the shelf, "It's done, Tia. You shouldn't have any more problems with it."

She smiled and got up from the couch to give him a hug. "Abuela Rosa is making dinner tonight; she'll expect us to be at her house by five. I'm having a few ladies over from church for a bridge game later this morning. Why don't you and Stephanie go have some fun, I'll see you later tonight."

Tank nodded and kissed her cheek. "We will pick you up at 4:30."

I stood and walked over to her to give her a hug as well. I'd never been big on touching, but the way she had accepted me right away made me feel like I was truly part of her family.

She kissed my cheek, "I'll see you later, dear. Now, go have some fun while the old ladies play cards."

I laughed and let Tank lead me back to the car. Once we were back on the freeway I asked, "So, what are our afternoon plans."

He glanced over at me and gave me a wolf grin, "I plan on keeping you very relaxed until time to go to Abuela's. I wouldn't want you to spend the afternoon worrying."

I felt the coil begin low in my abdomen as I thought of all the ways he could relax me, "Then you'd better drive faster, I'm feeling very nervous right about now."

I laughed as his foot hit the pedal harder and we sped towards the RangeMan building.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

Later that night as we pulled into Abuela Rosa's driveway, I couldn't help but think that I was very relaxed. I was listening to Tank tell his Tia about how much RangeMan had been growing and staring at the large number of cars that were parked around the house.

I turned to Tank, "Just how many people are expected to be a dinner tonight?"

A guilty expression crossed his face, "The whole family. Lester's parents, Ranger's parents, all the cousins, siblings, and their children will be here."

Tia leaned up between the seats of the Explorer we'd chosen to take tonight so that we would have enough room. "Don't worry dear, it's a zoo but they'll all love you."

I sighed and we all climbed out of the car. Tank took hold of my hand as we followed his Tia into the house. Once I was inside I had to fight my urge to not run right back out. The room was filled to the max and there were children running back and forth shouting in Spanish and waiving toy swords. I could hear multiple conversations going on and people laughing and joking.

Tank tugged my arm and we bypassed the living area and headed into the kitchen. Thankfully this room was quieter and there were only a few people inside. He pulled me to stand in front of an elderly Hispanic who was stirring a pot of rice. _"Steph, this is Abuela Rosa. Abuela this is Stephanie Plum."_

She examined me from head to toe and then gave me a smile, _"I have heard much about you, nieta."_

"_I hope nothing bad." _

She smiled and motioned for Tank to stir the rice behind her and then led me out the back door to the back porch where there was a large swing swaying in the breeze. We both sit down and she turned to look at me, _"You are very important to both Pierre and Carlito. Carlos stopped by a few days ago to let me know you were planning on making a trip to Miami. I asked him why he had never made you his woman, but he had no answer for me."_

I watched her as she talked suddenly unsure of what she was asking of me. _"Carlos and I never would have been able to have a relationship because he refuses to allow anyone fully into his life. While I will always have a special place for him in mine, I can't be with someone who won't allow me in all the way. I'm very curious by nature and it would have ruined the friendship I once had with him."_

She smiled and patted me gently on the cheek with her wrinkled hand, _"I'm glad you see that. I was worried when I learned of your relationship with Pierre that you were settling for second best." _She stopped for a second as if she was thinking about something and then continued, _"Pierre is not my grandson by blood, but in every other way I think of his mine. I have watched out for him since he came to this neighborhood as a small boy and I have seen him grow into an amazing man with a great potential to love if he would only allow himself."_

She looked into my eyes and I felt as if she was seeing everything I had ever done and every thought I'd ever had. When she finally broke away she kissed my cheek. _"I can see how much Pierre means to you and I'm happy for the both of you. I know my Carlito has not been treating you as he should, but he is confused and lost. He made his mistakes and he lost his chance with you, but I would like to ask you to not give up on him. He needs you in his life and you bring him balance, but he needs time to accept his lost chance to be the man in your life. Once he has accepted it, he will come back to you."_

I felt a tear trail down the side of my face, _"I need him too, just not in the same way as I need Pierre. Carlos has always supported me, and while I am hurt by some of his past actions and words I do hope that one day we will regain our friendship."_

She nodded in acceptance, _"Good, now come on. I have made a feast of Cuban food for you to try and I hope that you enjoy it as much as you enjoyed Sarah's cinnamon rolls."_

My stomach growled and she laughed as I blushed. I was sure that if her food was half as good as Tia's cinnamon rolls, I would be stuffed and happy in no time.

She led me back into the house before pushing me out of the kitchen and telling me to go relax and have fun. I wandered around the house for a few minutes looking for Tank or Tia and found them huddled together in the living room corner.

I watched as Tia handed Tank something small and he placed it in his pocket. She gave him a brilliant smile and kissed his cheek telling him something I couldn't hear over the noise in the room. When she looked up and noticed me coming towards he she said, "Pierre, take her around and introduce her to everyone. I'm going to help Rosa."

When she walked off I turned to face Tank, "What did she give you?"

He blushed and looked away, "Nothing important."

I was about to push him for more information to satisfy my curious nature, but we were suddenly surrounded by people that he felt the need to introduce me to. An hour later I had completely forgotten about the box and had met so many people that I couldn't have remembered each individual person's name or relationship if I tried.

We finally go called into dinner and I sat between Tank and Tia at one of the multiple tables that had been set up in the back yard to accommodate all the people.

Tank and I held hands throughout dinner but he was talking with Lester's brother Juan about football, and since I was more of a baseball fan I tuned them out. The only other person I knew at the table with us was Celia who I had met when Ranger had been shot during the Scrog incident.

Celia smiled at me when she noticed me and asked, "Do you have any plans to see Julie while you're here?"

I shook my head, "I wish I could, but Ranger hasn't really been in contact with me and I don't know how he would feel about me spending time with her."

Celia frowned, "I know he wouldn't mind, she worships you and has since she met you. I plan on taking her shopping tomorrow because Rachel has a doctor's appointment. The other two kids are spending the night at friend's houses. Would you like to go with us? I know Rachel wouldn't mind, she's very grateful for everything you did."

I smiled and thought about it. Abuela Rosa had told me not to give up on Ranger, so maybe I needed to do this just so he would know that even if I had decided we weren't going to continue our romantic relationship, I wasn't giving up on our friendship quite so easily. It was true that there were a lot of things that still needed to be said between us, but after my week at home with the guys I had realized they were all a part of my family and Ranger was included in that. Even if he was an ass sometimes.

"I'd love to."

She smiled, "Are you staying at RangeMan?"

I nodded.

"I'll pick you up at 10. We're planning on getting pedicures and then hitting the mall. I'm sure you could use some retail therapy after the past few weeks."

Apparently this family must be well informed of the RangeMan gossip if they all seemed to know about my shooting and recovery, "That sounds great!"

We spent the rest of the night chatting about stores and clothes as well as Celia filling me in on how Julie had been coping in the years I had been gone. I was happy to hear that she was well adjusted, a straight A student, and she was on the swim team. I had been worried when she shot Scrog that it would be hard for her to recover, but Celia said that while she still attended therapy once a week she was doing amazingly well. I couldn't wait to see her tomorrow.

Once the sun was completely down one of the men turned on the outside lights which included twinkling lights that went all around the fence and over our heads it was beautiful and once the music was turned on the party took off.

I danced with a few of Lester's brothers (he had 4) and then one of Ranger's before Tank stole me away. We danced the salsa and then a tango which left my body yearning for his, and I could tell from the look on his face he was ready to drag me back home and in to bed, but as if she knew we were thinking about leaving early Tia appeared at his side and begged for a dance or two. I couldn't help but giggle at the look on his face which reminded me of a small child whose favorite toy had been taken away.

The rest of the night went by in a blur, I danced with more people than I could remember but never managed to get Tank as a partner again. Sometime after midnight my feet began to ache and I sat on the small outdoor sofa that was positioned on the porch. I tried to keep my eyes open, but after an exhausting day it was only minutes before they closed.

I briefly woke up when I felt Tank lifting me but when I started to move he just leaned down and kissed my forehead, "Sleep baby, I'll get you home."

I smiled and knew he would never let anything happen to me, so I drifted back off to sleep.


	21. Chapter 17 - Dinner & Dancing

_A/N: Sorry, for not having a chapter out earlier this week, but I have 12 page research paper due tomorrow at midnight that I've been working on all week! Technically, I'm still not done, but my muse wanted me to finish this chapter and post it so here it is! Now I must return to the not nearly as interesting paper I must write! :) BTW, the first part of this chapter is technically an outtake from Tank's POV, but since it's so short I decided to just include it in this chapter instead of doing a separate one!_

Chapter 17 – Dinner & Dancing (Miami Part 2)

I walked into the apartment covered in sweat just as Steph was putting her purse on her shoulder. When she saw me entering she gave me a brilliant smile and moved to stand in front of me before pressing her lips to mine.

This was one of the many reasons I loved Stephanie Plum. I had dated many girls in my years in the army and before, but only a few of them had ever wanted a second date. It seemed as if most women just believed me to be a brainless piece of ass to spend one night with then move on. The ones that had managed to stick around for a few more dates would have been disgusted to touch me when I was covered in sweat like this.

She pulled back and wrapped her arms around my waist, "I'm heading out with Celia and Julie, and we're going shopping so I don't know how long we will be out."

I reached down to her face and pushed one of her rebellious curls behind her ear. I loved her hair; it was a reflection of who she was. "That's fine; I'll catch up on some work and catch lunch with some of the guys. Would you like to go out tonight?"

Her smile grew. "I'd love to."

The buzzer from the intercom went off and then the voice of one of the men informed Stephanie her visitors were here. I let go of her and pushed her towards the door, "Go have fun. I'll see you later."

She reached for the door before turning back to look at me, "I love you."

God I couldn't even explain what it felt like to hear her say that to me. I had never thought anyone would love me and especially not the way she did. She knew my past and my present and she had never judged me for any of it. "I love you, baby."

She gave me another one of her brilliant smiles before walking back over and kissing me softly on the lips again before walking out the door.

I moved into the bathroom and took a quick shower before drying off and throwing on a pair of cargos and one of my RangeMan t-shirts. If I was going to go downstairs and work I might as well look the part. I was about to walk out of the room and go downstairs when I noticed our clothes were spread around the room. I felt the grin spread across my face as I remembered Steph coming awake last night as I put her to bed and how our clothes ended up everywhere.

Being in the army had drilled cleanliness into me, so I couldn't just leave the clothes on the floor. I went around the room and picked up the mess and when I reached down to pick up the black pants I was wearing the night before a small velvet box fell from the pocket. I threw the clothes into the hamper in the corner and then went back to pick of the box.

I sat on the bed and popped it open. I had briefly thought about asking Tia to give it to me before we left, and I couldn't help but be surprised when she handed it to me before dinner last night with a knowing look on her face. She had smiled and told me that only a blind person wouldn't be able to tell the two of us were meant to be together and she knew my mother would have wanted her to give it to me.

I stared at the white gold band with a cushion cut diamond placed inside of it. It wasn't by any means large, but I also knew Steph wouldn't be a fan of anything overly large or gaudy. It just wasn't who she was.

The ring had been a gift to my mother from her father on her wedding day. My father had been a poor fisherman and hadn't had enough money to buy my mother anything other than a simple gold band, but she had always been close with her father and while he had never approved of my father or their relationship, he wanted her to always have the best of everything. After the wedding he had given her this ring to replace the gold band my father had given her and two weeks later he had passed away from a massive heart attack.

The ring had become one of my mother's most prized possessions after that. More than once my father had tried to take it to sell in order to buy more alcohol or to make the difference in rent when we were struggling with money, but my mother had always managed to keep it well hidden during those times.

As I stared at the diamond shinning brilliantly in the morning sun, I knew it was time. The last four months had been the best months of my life. I hadn't realized how lonely I had been until she walked back into my life. I had been a loner for most of my adult life, only associating with my Ranger team and occasionally picking up a random girl while on leave. It was hard for me to trust anyone, and without trust I couldn't form any kind of lasting relationships.

When Steph had walked into my life she slowly broke down every defense I had against people, and I had no power to stop her. Now I craved every moment I had with her like it was a drug, and now that she was finally cleared for field work I knew it would only get better.

I had never imagined that finding a woman who would not only love me, but also want to be my partner in all things would be such a turn on. I knew without a doubt that I could trust her with my back just as she could trust me with hers. At one point while Steph was training with Bobby and Lester, Zero had asked me how I could be so comfortable with my woman being out in the field.

He hadn't meant she was incapable, but he wasn't sure how I could stay focused knowing she was out there with me. It wasn't something I could explain to him, but I knew I could trust her to keep herself safe just as she had to trust me to do the same. I would always worry about her, especially after she jumped in front of a bullet for me, but I knew she would always worry for me. She would never ask me to give up what I love and I could never ask her to either. We were both adrenaline junkies and while I was glad she was no longer in the CIA I knew that she would always need more than a 9 to 5 desk job.

I looked back down at the ring and I couldn't help but wonder if she would say yes. Everyone in Trenton knew how Steph felt about marriage. She had failed with Dickie, but we all knew that wasn't her fault. Joe had tried to push her into it by forcing her to change everything about herself. I would never ask her to change a thing.

As a Ranger we had one main rule, never go in without a plan and without knowing what the outcome will be. I had no clue what the outcome of this situation would be, but I also knew I was going in. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and I wanted everyone to know that we belonged to each other. If she said no, I wouldn't push her but I would hope that one day she would change her mind.

I snapped the box closed and picked up my phone. I had phone calls to make and a special night to plan. Hopefully, she would say yes.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

**(Back to SPOV!)**

I stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the 10th floor. I had an amazing afternoon with Celia and Julie. Celia knew where every high end shopping center was in the Miami area and had made it her goal to be sure we hit them all. I now had four new pairs of shoes and at least 4 new outfits. I had stopped counting after the second shopping center.

After we shopped, Julie had wanted to take me to her favorite sea food restaurant so we had lunch at a small restaurant close to the water. The food had been amazing and the décor even better. The floor had been some type of thick see-through material which allowed us to watch the fish swimming underneath us as we ate.

Once we were done eating, Celia took us all to her favorite nail salon and Julie and I got matching blue pedicures while she told me all about the last few years I had missed of her life. The only thing I could say was that she was amazing.

Being forced to kill a man to save her father had not kept her from living her life. She still attended regular therapy sessions, but looking at her and hearing about her life you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between her and a normal girl who had never faced any hardship. She spent an hour telling me about her friends and her swim team. She was proud of her accomplishments, and so was I.

By the time they dropped me off I was exhausted and relaxed from the wonderful foot massage I'd received during our pedicures, but as I stepped out of the elevator and into the apartment I felt all the exhaustion fade away. There was a path of rose petals that led from the front door into the bedroom, and there were flickering candles burning all around the room giving off just enough light to make the room feel warm and romantic.

I sat my bags down on the dining room table and followed the path into the bedroom. This room also had flickering candles, but the sight that caught my eye was a beautiful sapphire dress that was laid across the bed and the matching silver shoes to match sitting next to it. I walked over and ran my fingers across the material and couldn't help but love the delicately embroidered design that was done in silver thread which captured the light of the candles and made it look as if the dress was shimmering.

When I glanced at the shoes I noticed there was a small note tucked between them and I picked it up to read.

Baby, I hope you like your dress. I have plans for us tonight, and I'll leave you free reign of the apartment to get ready. Meet me in the garage at 7:00.

Love, Pierre

I smiled at the signature and glanced at the clock. It was already 5:45 and I would need all the time I had left to get ready to go out.

Exactly an hour and fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of the elevator. I had managed to shower, do a home wax, do some light makeup, and get my hair to behave and fall lightly down my back in tamed curls. For a Jersey girl, I couldn't help but be proud. When my eyes met Tank's as he turned to face me, my heart skipped a beat.

His eyes changed to my new favorite color of brown, and I knew he wanted to take me back upstairs instead of going out. He shook his head as if fit would help to remove the thoughts that he was currently having and reached out to take my hand.

He pulled me to him and kissed me gently on the mouth. "You look amazing, baby."

I smiled, "You don't look so bad yourself."

And he didn't. He was dressed in a pair of dark gray slacks which showed his ass off to perfection, and a dark blue shirt. He led me to a black Mercedes and grinned, "I didn't think you would want to go out in the convertible tonight after spending so much time getting ready."

I gave him a grateful smile and climbed into the car. It wasn't as sexy as the Turbo or the Spyder, but it was still an amazing car. I watched as Tank closed my door and walked around to get into the driver's seat.

As we pulled out of the garage, my curiosity finally got the better of me. "So, where are we going?"

Tank laughed, "You lasted longer than I thought you would. I wanted to take you out dancing, and Juan owns a large Cuban restaurant which has a live band playing tonight."

I stared at him in shock. I love to dance. As a small child my mother had enrolled me in ballet classes, because of course every little 'Burg girl should be able to dance. Unfortunately, I had never had the grace or patience to repeatedly bend my knees and point out my toes. After only six months, the teacher 'suggested' to my mother that the class may not be the right fit for me.

Unwilling to give up on her 'Burg idea of a perfect girl, she had instead enrolled me in what she believed to be an adult ballroom dance class. At the time I joined the class had been studying the waltz, but the class ended up studying just about every type of dance you could imagine and I had loved it. My favorites had always been the Latin dances like the Tango and Bachata because it was impossible not to feel the high emotions while you were dancing them.

I must have been quiet too long, because Tank reached over and squeezed my hand. "Do you not want to go dancing?"

"No! I mean, yes, I want to go dancing! I was just surprised to hear you say you were taking me." And I was. I wasn't used to guys taking me out anywhere.

Joe's idea of a date had been Pino's and beer. Dickie's idea had been smoozing with clients at business dinners and Ranger and I… Well, Ranger and I had never really had a relationship, but even if we had I couldn't picture him taking me dancing.

I guess Tank could read my mind tonight, because as we parked in front of a large restaurant he turned to face me. "Get used to it, baby. I'm planning on taking you a lot more places than just dancing."

I felt my insides get all squishy and I couldn't help but think that I would never get used to the way I loved this man. I pressed my lips up against his before pulling away and whispering, "I love you."

He gave me a brilliant smile and kissed me again with a lot more heat leaving me wishing we were going home instead of into a restaurant to have a nice dinner. "I love you too, baby."

He climbed out of the car and came around to open my door before taking my hand and leading me into the restaurant. When we entered Juan was standing next to the hostess stand talking with one of his employees, but as soon as he saw us he gave Tank a big slap on the back before smiling at me.

"Stephanie, you look lovely. Are you sure you don't want to leave this mountain of a man and run away with me?" He asked.

I couldn't help but laugh. He was so much like Lester that it was easy to see they were brothers.

Tank growled at him and put his arm around my shoulders to pull me closer to his side. "Mine, primo. Get your own woman."

Juan laughed and grabbed a couple of menus from the hostess stand. "Calm down, man. It's easy to see there's no one else she would rather be with. Come with me and I'll take you to your table."

He led us through the dimly lit restaurant into a small alcove that sat right off the dance floor but still offered us a lot of privacy. "I hope you enjoy your food, Stephanie. My wife, Marisol is cooking tonight and as soon as she hears that you are here she will be working hard to impress you."

I smiled and then blushed as my stomach let out a terrifying growl. I ignored both of the men's laughs when they heard the sound and replied, "I'm sure she will the smells alone are amazing."

He smiled and walked away leaving us alone to look over the menu. Oddly enough, even though I had been friends with most of the guys for years, I had never had Cuban food before.

Tank must have noticed I looked lost because he took my menu from me and sat it on the edge of the table just as the waiter came up. He let me order a mojito before he ordered himself a beer and told the waiter to let Marisol surprise us with our dinner.

The waiter nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

Once he was gone, Tank reached across the table and took my hand. "Did you enjoy the party last night?"

"Yes, I loved meeting your Tia and Abuela Rosa yesterday. Lester's family was also amazing; they all accepted me without a second thought."

"Did you think they wouldn't?"

I frowned and thought about how to answer that question. "I'm not sure I knew what to expect. I was a little nervous to meet Abuela Rosa or any of Ranger's family, because I wasn't sure what they knew about me or my relationship with Ranger. I didn't want them to judge me or condemn me for the way it ended."

Tank was silent as the waiter returned with my mojito and his beer. Once he was gone again he said, "I can see why you would be nervous, but Ranger has always been upfront about your relationship with him when talking to his family. I think that most of them understand that he will probably never settle down in any permanent way other than his pseudo relationship with Rachel."

"I get that now. It's exactly what Rosa told me, but I couldn't help but wonder before. I know a lot of the guys at RangeMan always assumed the two of us had a relationship so I couldn't help but wonder if his family did as well." I paused and then changed the subject. "I loved being able to spend time with your Tia. I can see how much she loves you."

Tank smiled and sat back in his chair taking a quick drag on his beer bottle. "When I first came to live with her I always felt like a burden. She lost her husband a few years before my parents died and they never had any kids of their own. I always wondered if maybe it was because she didn't want any, and wondered if she resented being stuck with me."

He glanced at me and I guess he could tell that I was about to protest that statement. "I know now that it wasn't true. She actually had uterine cancer when I was a baby and was forced to have her uterus removed. She can't have any children of her own, and she's always treated me as if I was her son."

"From the time I was 12 until I was 16 though, I felt like a burden and refused to let her in. I met Carlos and Lester right after moving in and they were already into the gang life. I was angry at the world for taking my mother and my sister and I couldn't absorb any type of love." He paused as the waiter brought him a fresh beer and then disappeared again. "I did a lot of horrible things during that time. It was a miracle the three of us didn't end up in jail serving sentences before we turned 16."

"That all changed on Lester's 16th birthday."

He stopped talking and was staring unseeingly across the room. I squeezed his hand trying to remind him that nothing he said would change the way I felt about him. "What happened?"

"The leader of the gang decided to get him a present. There was a girl that worked the counter at the small grocery store close to Lester's house. He had spent months trying to get her to go out with him, but she always refused. Apparently her brother owed Romeo, our leader, some money, and to punish him he decided to give the girl to Lester and allow him to rape her." He paused and took a deep breath.

"We had done a lot of bad things while we were in the gang, but we never disrespected women. Abuela Rosa would have skinned us all. Lester refused and Romeo decided he would just kill the girl instead. Lester grabbed her and Carlos and I shoved her behind us to protect her." He stopped again as if he was remembering the day. "Something in me snapped. She was older than Farrah would have been, but something in her eyes reminded me of my sister. I attacked Romeo. Between the three of us we managed to get her out of there and back to her house. It wasn't until we were almost back to Les's house that we realized I was shot."

"I almost died in the hospital, but somehow managed to pull through. When I woke up the girl was sitting next to my bed. She gave me a small St. Christopher pendent and thanked me for saving her life." He paused. "I'm not sure what it was about that meeting, but I felt like it was my sister forgiving me for what had happened. My Tia was there too, and she told me how proud of me my mother would have been."

"After that I started getting counseling, and I finally started to let my aunt in. It was a long road, and I have no idea what would have happened if she had given up on me."

The waiter came by at that moment and put our food down in front of us. I wasn't sure what it was but it looked absolutely amazing. I must have said that out loud because the waiter smiled before telling me, "Marisol knew it was your first time eating Cuban food so she created you a sampler. On the right you have arroz con pollo and the left is ropa viaja."

He disappeared and I tried both sides of my plate. They were both amazing and I knew I would trust Marisol to make me anything she wanted anytime she wanted. As we ate Tank told me how the guys had tried to stay out of the gang life for the rest of their youth, but once you're in you're in for life. They had only managed to escape their reach when they entered the army.

Once our plates were cleared Tank ordered me caramel flan for dessert and then pulled me out of my chair to dance. When he heard the music switch to Roxanne he asked, "Do you know how to tango?"

I smiled coyly at him, "You'll just have to wait and see."

The tango had to be one of my favorite dances I loved the give and take of it, but I had never danced it with anyone I loved and I had to admit as I danced it with Tank, it was a completely different feeling. As the music played and my leg lifted to circle his hips, I felt the intense fire that always seemed to burn between us grow into an inferno. As his hands moved around my body I felt my breath leave my body, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was just as affected as I was.

We danced two tangos before the music changed to the sounds of what I knew to be the sounds of a bachata. The bachata was the most sensual Latin dance I knew, and as we moved to the beat of the music I knew I was a goner. As his leg slipped between mine and I arched backwards I felt my sensitized clit brush against the fabric of his pants and I couldn't help the moan that escaped my lips. Seconds later as I stood and turned with my back to his front I could tell by the feeling of him pressed against me that he was in the same state as I was.

As the song ended I couldn't help but be thankful when I saw the waiter placing my dessert on the table. If we danced anymore I might very well rip his clothes off his body and have my way with him in the middle of the dance floor.

I led him back to our table and took a sip of my mojito before tasting my flan. I had yet to have a dessert which I didn't love, and this was no exception. The creamy caramel flavor filled my mouth and I felt my eyes close. It was heavenly.

When I opened my eyes to offer Tank a taste, I found him on one knee in front of me. "Stephanie Plum, before I met you I thought I had everything I would ever need. A career I loved, good friends, and a place to call home. But you changed my entire world. You showed me how much I was missing by just going through the motions of day to day life. You showed me how to live in the moment and taught me how to open my heart again."

He pulled a small black ring box out of his pocket and opened it to show me a beautiful diamond ring that glittered in the dim light of the restaurant. "You're my best friend and the person I want to have by my side for the rest of my life. This ring was given to my mother by her father on her wedding day, and I would love more than anything for you to wear it. Stephanie, will you marry me?"

I felt the tears flowing down my face and I fell to my knees beside him. "Yes! I'd love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life as your wife."

I knew that I had always said I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to be married again, and at the time that had been the truth. I guess it just showed that none of the men in my life had been the right one for me. Kneeling here next to Tank as he slipped the ring onto my ring finger, I knew this was right. I didn't know what the future held for us, but I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him by my side.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. I felt the inferno, which had tamed a bit when we sat down, begin to build again. As his tongue traced my lips and I opened my mouth to allow him access. I almost lost control of myself.

When he pulled back a few seconds later, I groaned in disappointment and I heard him chuckle in response. "We have to get out of here, baby. I can't hold back for much longer and I'd prefer not to celebrate our engagement in jail."

I sighed, but knew he was right. I grabbed the small clutch I'd brought with us and Tank threw a couple of hundreds on the table to cover our bill before pulling me towards the exit.

I hoped we could make it back to RangeMan without getting a ticket, because I had a feeling we would be breaking a few laws on the way back!


	22. Chapter 18 - Celebration

_A/N: I'm kind of sad because there will only be a few more chapters of this story before it ends, and it will be hard to let Tank go. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend, but it will depend on how well my kids behave! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and/or followed since the last chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying this journey as much as I am enjoying writing it!_

_Warning for anyone who is not a fan of SMUT, the first part of this chapter is pretty much pure SMUT so you may want to skip it!_

Chapter 18 – Celebration

By the time the door to the apartment closed behind us, I had worked myself into such a state that I could barely stand still. Tank must have been feeling the same way because when the click of the lock engaging echoed through the quiet apartment he pushed me back against the door and pressed his mouth firmly against mine.

It wasn't a gentle kiss, but one filled with passion and desire which had only been growing since we first stepped onto the dance floor at Juan's restaurant. I could feel the hard metal of the door knob pushing into my back as his tongue moved into my mouth gently caressing my own before I lost control of my own desires and began moving my hands to his belt.

Within seconds I had managed to get his belt undone and he kicked off his shoes while removing the pants at the same time. His lips moved from mine to the place behind my ear which he knew drove me crazy and I couldn't help but moan as I felt a surge of wetness ruin my already damp panties.

He pulled away from me for a second as he unzipped the back of my dress and let it fall to a heap around my feet. I took advantage of his temporary distraction by pressing my lips to his chest right above his heart and whispering, "I love you."

He drew in a quick breath as I scraped my teeth along his nipple and began to kiss my way down his perfectly sculptured abdomen. The man was an Adonis and I was planning on spending the night worshiping him properly.

When I reached his hips I let my tongue trace lightly over the bone before marking him right above the bone on his right side. I felt his hands move into my hair and I couldn't help but smile as I realized how much power I had over him in this moment.

I moved back and locked eyes with him for a second and felt my breath leave my body. The look on his face was so filled with love and adoration that I couldn't help but wonder what I had done to deserve the man in front of me. He may think that I had healed his heart, but he had also healed mine in a way I hadn't even realized I needed.

I gave him a coy smile and knelt in front of him placing a light kiss on the end of his erection before taking his length into my mouth. He made a sound deep in his throat as I began to move back and forth allowing my tongue to swirl around the tip every time I reached it.

His hands tightened in my hair and he muttered, "Good God woman."

I felt him begin to pulse and knew from the strength of his grip on my head that he was close so I reached back and gently massaged his balls and within seconds felt him stiffen as the warm fluid filled my mouth and he shouted out, "Stephanie!"

I swallowed and then gently licked him clean before he reached down and picked me up throwing me over his shoulder and walking into the bedroom before gently tossing me onto the middle of the bed and climbing on top of me.

He kissed me deeply before pulling back and looking into my eyes. "It's my turn now."

I felt the muscles deep in my abdomen clinch in anticipation as he kissed his way down my neck and chest stopping at breast to gently bite at my nipple before teasing it with his tongue. I was beyond ready for him and I could hear myself begging him for more, but he ignored my pleas as he continued to switch between gentle nips and light teasing of my nipple.

I felt the tension in my abdomen increase and it felt as if my whole body was on fire. He moved from one breast to the other giving it equal attention and making the fire in my veins increase to an inferno before kissing a path down to the small strip of curls that were begging for his attention.

I felt him stop moving and opened my eyes to look at him, I wasn't even aware that I had closed them, when my eyes met his he gave me a wolf grin. "You're so beautiful, and I can't believe that you're all mine."

God. I needed him to stop talking and keep moving. I wasn't sure how much more I could take, my body was screaming for him to take me and mark me as his. "Yes, yours. Always."

I watched as his eyes changed to the color of melted chocolate I loved so much and he bent to put his head between my legs. Seconds later I felt my back arch off of the bed as his tongue flicked across my already sensitive clit.

I felt him move two fingers to my dripping core and I tried to wiggle and encourage him to move them into me, but he ignored my silent begging and continued his torturous teasing of my clit. I moved my hands to his head rubbing the smooth surface and pleaded with him. "More, please!"

He pressed a kiss to my center and then with no warning his fingers entered me. He curled them slightly allowing them to brush against my g spot with every pass. I felt myself getting hotter and I was so close. Then as I chanted his name he bit down lightly on my clit and I flew to pieces. Behind my eyelids bright white light exploded and before I even had a chance to come down I felt him enter me.

He paused when he was fully buried inside me and allowed the haze of my orgasm to pass. He ran his fingers along the side of my face until I opened my eyes to look up at him. "I want to see you beautiful eyes, baby."

I nodded and my eyes locked with his as he began to move slowly. I'm not sure what was different as we made love, but this time it felt as if all of the walls that had been left between us were gone. I had done what I wasn't sure I would ever do again, and I had completely given my heart to him just as I knew he had given his to me.

I had assumed, based on the sexual tension between us as we danced, that our coupling would be fast and frantic tonight. But it wasn't. We kept our eyes locked together as if we were both letting the other know that this was real, the connection we had to each other wasn't going to fade and it was only growing stronger the longer we were together.

When I finally felt the crash of the orgasm overtake me and felt Tank follow after me, it was as if it was a cleansing. I knew without a doubt that we were partners in every way possible, and I felt like there was a silent promise which had been made that we would always be together. It was just him and me. Just as it had been since I found him in Kabul and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Tank had collapsed beside me and as my mind came down from its high, I felt him tracing little circles on my back. "Are you alright, baby?"

I knew from the way he had asked the question that he had felt the same way about what had just happened between us. "I'm better than okay. How are you?"

He was silent for a minute and I felt him move some of my hair away from my face. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you know how much I love you."

I gave him a small smile and rolled onto my side to face him. "Maybe it's me that doesn't deserve you."

He grinned. "Well you're stuck with me now."

I waited to see if the idea of getting married made me break out in hives, but just like it had in the restaurant, the idea of marrying Tank just felt right to me. "What if we got married here? Maybe just a small ceremony with your Tia on the beach."

His eyes locked with mine as if he was trying to see how serious I was, "Are you sure that's what you want?"

I nodded. "I don't really have any family left except for Lester, Bobby, Devin, and Eli but they would all understand. I know how close you are with your aunt and it just feels right to have it here. We could do it before we leave."

He grinned, "Are you in a hurry Ms. Plum?"

I laughed. "I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so waiting doesn't seem necessary."

"Okay, then I'll make it happen." He leaned over and pressed a kiss against my mouth, "But I think I need to do some more celebrating with my fiancée since it doesn't seem like she'll have that title for much longer."

And with that he began to show me just how adored I was.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

I awoke to a banging on the door. I moaned and pulled a pillow over my head without bothering to get up. It felt like I had only just fallen asleep and as I moved the pillow to glance at the clock I saw that was pretty much the truth.

Tank laughed as I pulled the pillow back over my head then he moved to get up. "I'll see who it is; it's probably just the team checking in from the takedown tonight. Go back to sleep."

I made a sound of what I hoped Tank took as agreement and listened as he opened drawers and threw on some clothes before walking out the bedroom door. I heard the door gently scrape the frame, but apparently Tank had pulled it too softly and the door sprang back partially open.

I was debating crawling out of bed to close it completely when I heard the sound of Ranger's voice from the other room, and I couldn't help but listen to the conversation.

"Were you planning on telling me?" Ranger's voice asked full of what sounded like irritation mixed with anger.

"About what?"

I heard what sounded like the rustling of paper before Tank muttered an expletive. A few minutes later Ranger repeated the same expletive and Tank whispered, "Shh! She's sleeping. She doesn't belong to you, man. She never did, and I don't need to ask you permission."

Ranger growled, but before he could say anything else I heard Tank sigh and continue. "What do you want me to say? I love her and she loves me. You had your chance and now she's mine. I'm not going to give her up. If you keep this shit up she's going to walk out of your life for good. She's still trying to give excuses for the crap you've put her through, but if you don't get your act together soon she won't be able to keep coming up with them."

The room was silent for a minute before I heard Ranger's resigned voice. "I know man. I fucked it up, and I just want her to be happy. Looking at those pictures, it's obvious she's happy with you."

"Where did you get these?"

"They were delivered to the control room downstairs ten minutes ago. I've spent months chasing this asshole and never come close to catching him, but apparently he's right under our noses if he got close enough to you to take these without anyone noticing." He paused. "How many men were with you tonight?"

"Four."

I felt like I should be angry that Tank had four men watching us tonight, but when I thought about it I couldn't find the energy. I knew that everything with Damien had put all the guys on edge and if he hadn't brought teams to watch his back tonight he wouldn't have been able to relax with me and I wouldn't trade that for the world.

"You need to get her back to Trenton. I don't trust the guys here to keep her safe; the guys in Trenton would lay down their life for her." Ranger said.

I was getting irritated now. After years of knowing me, Ranger still couldn't understand that I wouldn't be ordered around. I was a grown woman who could take care of myself, and I didn't need him to make my decisions for me. I jumped out of bed and grabbed one of Tank's t-shirts out of the dresser and pulled it over my head.

Tank made an exasperated sound as I silently opened the door. "I'll talk to her, but we're planning on getting married before we leave to go home and if that's what she wants than I'm not going to force her to go back home."

Both men were sitting on the large sofa faced away from the bedroom door and didn't notice as I entered the room. Ranger looked over at Tank and I could see the incredulous look on his face. "You can't be serious. She can't take care of herself and if he gets a hold of her we may not be able to save her this time."

A look of fury crossed Tank's face when Ranger implied that I couldn't take care of myself, but before he had a chance to respond I spoke. "And that's the reason we would have never worked. "

Both men jumped at the sound of my voice but I noticed a ghost of a smile appear on Tank's face. I'm sure he was aware I was pissed. "You know nothing about me anymore, Ranger. I saved Pierre in Kabul more than once and I was in the CIA for over three years. You've spent the last few months avoiding me and haven't really seen me in over four years. You have absolutely no idea what I can and can't do."

His blank face slammed down as he looked at me. "Does that mean you won't go back to Trenton?"

I sighed and walked around the couch to sit on Tank's lap. "I'm not saying I won't go. I will cut my vacation short, but I want to get married here. As soon as that happens, I will willingly go back to Trenton."

Tank's arms wrapped around my waist and he looked at Ranger. "What makes you think she's any safer there? He obviously followed us from Trenton to Miami and he'll follow us back."

Ranger sighed and leaned back against the couch. "I know, but my gut is telling me to get her out of here."

Tank's arms tightened around me and I could tell that he wasn't taking Ranger's gut instinct lightly. "I can call in a few favors and get the marriage license tomorrow. We could be married on the beach by Tia's house and on a plane by tomorrow night." He paused and looked up at me. "Is that okay with you?"

I shrugged. Honestly we could get married in a parking lot at sunrise for all I care, as long as I was with him it didn't matter. "That's fine, but what started all this."

Ranger grimaced as if he had been hoping I wouldn't think to ask that question and handed me a plain manila envelope. I reached inside of it and pulled out three black and white pictures. The first was of Tank and me holding hands and exiting the Miami airport. The second was of me sitting at the table in Grandma Rosa's backyard chatting with Celia, and the last made my breath leave my body. It was me knealing on the ground next to Tank as he slipped my engagement ring on my finger. It was a breathtaking picture and the joy on both of our faces was on display for anyone who may have been watching, but it had been ruined by bull's-eye that had been drawn on my forehead with a red sharpie and the note at the top which read: If I can't have you, no one will.

Tank was running his hand gently up and down my back trying to calm me as I shakily handed Ranger back the envelope. "How did he find me? We traveled down here using aliases."

A look of fury flashed across Ranger's face. "One of the new contract workers tipped him off about your trip. Lester and Bobby are dealing with him."

I couldn't make myself feel sorry for the guy. Damien was a psychopath and the idea that someone at RangeMan would knowingly give me up to him made me want to hurl, but I knew without a doubt he would be paying for it with blood.

I watched as Ranger and Tank shared some silent conversation before Tank stood and deposited me back down on the couch where he had previously been sitting. He picked up the envelope with the pictures then leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "I'm going to run these down to Silvio and see if he can get anything off of them, and then I need to make a few phone calls. I'll be back soon."

I nodded and watched him walk out the door. I sat there silently for a few minutes assuming the guys had decided to let me have some time alone with Ranger, but I wasn't going to be the first one to crack. He owed me an apology and I wasn't planning on making it easy on him.

After a few minutes of silence he finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Babe."

I waited for a few seconds for him to elaborate, but when he didn't say another word I asked, "For what? There are so many things you could be sorry for."

He groaned and ran his hand down his face. "For all of it. For resigning my contract when I knew you were waiting for me to be out. For telling Tank I wasn't sure I wanted a relationship with you when I knew I wanted it more than anything. God, Babe. There are a million things I'm sorry for."

I sighed. "Why is this the first time I've seen you since I was shot?"

He grabbed my hand and starred at the beautiful diamond ring Tank had slipped onto my finger hours earlier. "I needed time. I knew I lost you three years ago, but I thought I would never see you again. When you showed up in the compound in Kabul my whole world turned upside down. I had a brief moment of hope that maybe things weren't going to be over between us, but when I watched you jump in front of a bullet for Tank, I couldn't deny it anymore."

He was quiet for a few minutes as he stared blankly at my ring finger. "I've never seen Tank like that before. Ever since you two came back I've seen how good you are for each other, but it's hard for me to give up the thought that we would one day be together."

"I'm not the same girl I was when I walked out of Trenton three years ago. You have to accept that. I can take care of myself. I know it's hard for you to let that image of me go, but you have to realize I love Tank and he's it for me."

He didn't say anything for a few minutes. Finally he let go of my hand and said, "I know. Rachel's pregnant she found out today."

The sudden change of subject threw me, but when I finally realized what he said I was surprised to find I was genuinely happy for him. Granted, by the look on his face, he wasn't as happy about it as I was. "Congratulations. Does this mean you're staying in Miami for good?"

He gave me a small nod. "I've pretty much been living here primarily for the last two years anyway, and Julie has been asking when we were planning to make our relationship more permanent."

"So you're getting married again?"

He sighed, "Yes, I'm not going to make the same mistakes I did with Julie. I want to be a part of this child's life from the beginning."

I didn't really know what to say after that. Our conversation was becoming increasingly awkward, and I was beginning to see that no matter how much I wanted to regain our friendship, it was never going to happen. We had grown apart and I had grown up. I had no doubt that we would both be in each other's life in some way, after all he was my boss, but the close friendship we had once had was gone.

Apparently Ranger was having the same realization as me because he gave me a resigned smile and stood to leave. "You'll leave tomorrow night?"

I nodded, "As long as we're able to get married tomorrow."

He kissed the top of my head then moved to walk out the door. "I'll make sure it happens."

I tried to wait up for Tank, but after 30 minutes I could barely keep my eyes open and climbed into our bed. A few hours later I felt Tank slide in behind me and pull me close to him. I sighed happily and snuggled into him. I couldn't believe that in just a few hours we would be married, and we could finally start our happily ever after.


	23. Chapter 19 - Here Comes the Bride

_A/N: Well, I'd planned on having this chapter out on Saturday but we ended up going to the lake for Labor Day weekend and I forgot my laptop cord! *Sigh* But here it is a few days late, but still done! I hope you enjoy this and don't kill me at the end. I should have the next chapter out tomorrow!_

_I had a few questions about my next story, and just so you guys know – I'm already in the works of my next story. I can't decide who the leading man will be, but the story has already been started and I should publish the first chapter as soon as this one is finished! I'm not giving up on Murphy's Law and it will be finished as well, my muse and I are just having a disagreement about __**when**__ it will be finished!_

Chapter 19 – Here Comes the Bride

I took a deep breath as I looked out the small window of Tia's bathroom. The sun was just beginning to make its decent and the colors over the ocean were breathtaking. The sky was clear and there was just the smallest of breezes coming off the ocean. It was the absolutely perfect setting for a wedding, and I was about to marry the man of my dreams.

The door opened behind me and Devin stepped into the room with a giant smile on his face. "You look absolutely beautiful, honey."

I couldn't help but smile when he entered the room. Tank had proved how wonderful he was when both Devin and Eli showed up at the front door this morning to get me ready for my wedding. They had immediately whisked me off to find an appropriate wedding dress and to get pampered before the wedding.

I had originally planned on just wearing the sapphire dress I had worn the night before, but I couldn't help but get excited when they mentioned buying a real wedding dress. I had told Tank that it didn't matter to me how or when we got married as long as we were together and that was the truth. But I couldn't help but feel as if everything was more real as I stood looking at rack after rack of beautiful white gowns.

I had immediately chosen not to wear a pure white dress. I had for my wedding to the Dick, but it didn't seem right for this wedding. Instead I tried on several blush and cream colored dresses. The blush was ruled out after the first gown, because with the tan I had gotten hanging out on the beach with Tank and his family didn't work with the light pink of the dress.

After we eliminated those, I tried on three cream colored dresses before finally finding the perfect dress. It was strapless and fitted around my chest before the light fabric fell gently to my feet. I could just see the dress blowing around me in the gentle ocean breeze as we said our vows and I knew it was perfect for our beach wedding.

After the dress was purchased, the three of use went to a local spa where we all got manicures and pedicure and I also got a full waxing package. Once I was done there, the guys took me to lunch where I met Tank's last surprise.

Sitting at the restaurant waiting for us was Lester. I think I might have made a few of the other customers deaf as I shrieked and excitedly hugged him. We'd had an amazing lunch together as Lester told Devin and Eli some stories of my early days as the Bombshell Bounty Hunter of Trenton. I couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of myself as I heard the stories; I had stumbled around for years without seeking any type of training and simply relied on my instincts or the guys ability to save me when things went FUBAR.

After lunch the boys had driven us to Tia's house where there was a hair stylist to help me finish getting ready for the wedding. The rest of the afternoon had been somewhat of a blur. I think I may have even dozed a bit as the stylist finished my hair and applied my makeup; after all I hadn't slept that much the night before.

Now as I stood in front of Devin I couldn't help but feel excited. I was about to marry my best friend, and I knew that this marriage was right. I would spend the rest of my life with him and there's nothing I'd rather do.

I gave a small twirl he could see the whole dress and he nodded in approval. "Are the guys all ready?"

"Yes, Ranger and Tank arrived with the pastor a few minutes ago. Are you ready to get this show on the road?" He asked as he put his arm out for me to take.

I took it and allowed him to lead me to the back door of the house. We had decided earlier in the day that Lester would stand in as my 'man' of honor and Devin would walk me down the aisle. Ranger was acting as Tank's best man and the only person who would be missing from our wedding would be Bobby. But since he had a newborn at home and someone had to watch RangeMan Trenton, I could understand his absence.

Devin paused at the back door then reached over to the dining room table to hand me a bouquet of beautiful light pink gerbera daisies. "I know how you feel about roses, but I wanted you to have something with some color and I know these are your favorite."

I could feel the tears prickling in my eyes, but I refused to cry before my wedding. "Thank you, Dev. You guys have done so much to make me have the perfect wedding in less than 24 hours."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of my head, "You're my girl, and I know you would have been happy without all the little things but you deserve to have a perfect day. You're always taking care of everyone else, and I wanted a chance to take care of you for once."

With that he opened up the back door to the house and led me to the gate at the back of the yard which led down to the beach. He gave a signal to someone on the other side and I heard the sounds to Canon in D floating to us mixed with the sounds of the gentle lapping of waves.

As the gate opened I took in the scene before me. Someone had laid out an aisle of beautiful red rose petals and I was shocked to see that most of both Lester's and Ranger's families were in attendance sitting equally on each side of the aisle. At the altar, both Ranger and Lester had on lightweight cream colored linen pants and white button down shirts with the sleeves rolled up to their elbows and no shoes. I couldn't help but think that both of them looked hot in something other than their typical RangeMan black.

When my eyes finally found Tank, I felt the breath leave my body. He was absolutely gorgeous in matching linen pants, but instead of wearing a white shirt he had chosen to wear a light pink that matched my flowers perfectly and looked amazing against his dark skin. Once my eyes met his my sense of everything else was gone and it became just him and me.

I could see everything he was feeling as he watched me make my way down the aisle. I could see the love for me, the amazement that we were actually getting married, and the wonder at how beautiful he thought I looked and I knew that as he looked into my eyes he was seeing the same things reflected. This man was truly the other half of me and I couldn't even comprehend what I had done to deserve his love.

I distantly heard the pastor ask who gave me to be married and Devin respond before handing my hand over to Tank. The rest of the wedding was a blur. My eyes stayed locked with his and everything around us faded away. We hadn't had time to write our own vows so we exchanged the standard vows but did remove the mention of obey. We were partners in everything, and that phrase just didn't suit the type of relationship we wanted to have.

When the pastor finally told Tank that he could kiss his bride, I felt my heart skip a beat as Tank's lips met mine. We were finally married and the kiss we shared just further proved that. It was a kiss filled with promise for what the rest of our lives would be filled with and I couldn't help but wish we were suddenly somewhere a lot more private.

I don't know how long were kissing before the sound of wolf whistles filled our ears and I heard Lester telling Tank to save it for later. As we pulled apart, I could see the promise in his eyes that he would save it for later and once we were alone I knew I'd be a very happy woman.

Lester chose that moment to wrap my arm around his and lead me a way and back into the back yard. I must have been distracted when I walked through the yard earlier, because I hadn't even noticed the tables that had been set up on one side and the buffet that had been set up on the other.

"Come on, Beautiful. Let's get you fed so that we can dance the night away!"

He led me over to the buffet which was filled with all sorts of Cuban cuisine and I could tell that the Manoso and Santos women had been busy this afternoon. Lester led me through the line and filled up two plates with everything available before leading me over to a long table that was situated at the front of the yard.

Tia and Abuela Rosa were both already sitting at the table as we approached and Lester immediately went to get them each a plate as they stood to give me a hug.

Abuela Rosa hugged me tightly and whispered in my ear, _"Welcome to the family, I can see how much he means to you and I know you will be happy for years to come."_

She passed me off to Tia Sarah who kissed my cheek, "I know you must leave tonight, but I hope you will visit more often. I love seeing how happy he is now."

"Of course, when we resolve this issue maybe you'll be willing to come up to Trenton to visit us."

Her eyes lit up, "I'd love that, dear."

I felt Tank come up behind me and wrap his arms around me as he said, "Maybe you could help us find a house to buy. I think it's time we move out of the building."

I twisted around to look him in the eyes, "Really?"

He smiled, "Really. I don't think I'm willing to share you with the guys anymore. I want somewhere we can escape to after work."

Lester sat down the plates he had made for Tia and Abuela Rosa before turning to me and giving me sad puppy dog eyes, "You wouldn't want to leave us would you, Beautiful?"

I laughed at his attempt to keep me in the building. "It's not like I'm going far. I still work there and I'm sure you guys will be over a lot."

He continued to pout and tease Tank about taking me far away while we ate dinner. Once the food was gone and everybody was happily fed. Lester's sister, Marisol, brought out a large red velvet cake with cream cheese icing and Tank and I fed each other cake without smashing it all over each other's faces. Lester was very disappointed in the whole affair.

After everyone had been served cake, someone switched on some music and the dancing began. The first dance I danced with Tank. We danced a tango which only reminded me of the night before when he had proposed to me at Juan's restaurant. By the time we had finished the dance I could tell that he was remembering the same thing and was just as eager to be done with this party as I was.

When he noticed Lester coming to steal a dance he leaned down and whispered in my ear, "We leave in an hour, and Ranger has loaned us the RangeMan jet."

I heard the silent invitation to join the mile high club and I couldn't help but blush.

I spent the next forty five minutes dancing with most of the men in the family as well as Devin and Eli. I was just getting ready to go change out of my wedding dress for the trip back home when Ranger approached me for a dance.

The song playing was soft and slow so he held me lightly against him as we swayed back and forth in silence. Halfway through the song he pulled back slightly and smiled down at me. "You look beautiful, Babe. I never thought you would get married again, but looking at you now and how happy you are, I can see how much you've changed."

There it was again. That awkward feeling that had never existed between us before. I wasn't sure what to say to that so I just murmured a quiet, "Thank you. I really am happy."

He smiled and trailed one of his fingers down my cheek. "I wish things were different."

I really didn't know what to say to that, because honestly I didn't wish things were different. I knew without a doubt that I had no regrets about my life. Everything that had happened in my life up to this point had led me to Tank, and I wouldn't change that for anything.

Thankfully the song was ending and I needed to change clothes so that we could get on the plane so I excused myself and made my way into the empty house and up to the room I had used earlier to change.

I took off my wedding dress and hung it in the closet and grabbed the pair of jeans and navy button up shirt I had been wearing earlier in the day. After I had my clothes changed, I went into the bathroom and took the pins out of my hair allowing it to fall down my back in the soft curls I knew that Tank loved and slipped on my navy flats.

I had just made my way down the stairs when my spidey sense began to tingle. The house was quiet, and I wasn't sure where my sense of unease was coming from. I was just about to write it off as nerves when I felt a sharp sting in my neck.

The world was already starting to fade as I reached up and pulled the small dart from my neck. My arm fell limply beside me and I heard the dart roll from my hand as I felt someone come up beside me.

I heard Damien's chuckle in my ear as he picked me up and carried me out of the house, but I couldn't find the strength to call out or scream for help.

A few seconds later he shoved me in the backseat of a waiting car before moving to the front seat and starting up the car. I felt my consciousness slip away just as I heard him say, "I'm so glad you didn't die in Kabul. This will be so much more fun."


	24. Chapter 20 - Seek and Destroy

_A/N: A day after I posted my last chapter, my brother was involved in an explosion at the natural gas plant he works at. He is an electrician and the mechanic working with him had disappeared leaving a pipe valve open. The pipe ended up exploding after too much pressure built up and in the process a part of the pipe sliced into my brother's head taking a piece of his skull, shattering his cheekbone, and crushing a part of his jaw. The plant he works at is about halfway between the town we live in and another large town. He ended up being airlifted to the other town and undergoing a craniotomy to remove a portion of his skull due to too much brain swelling. He was kept under a medically induced coma for two weeks and is just now beginning to fully recover. The town is about an hour and a half from my home town and we are unable to transfer him due to medical reasons so I have had to spend my time driving back and forth between towns, taking care of my children, working full time, and doing my school work – unfortunately that delayed this portion of my story and for that I am deeply sorry! Thankfully, he is now doing very well and while he will still have to be transferred to another hospital for inpatient cognitive rehab, I do not have to travel as much as I did before which means I should be able to pick up my writing again!_

_I actually completed this chapter while sitting in the waiting room of the hospital but haven't had time to upload it. There will only be one more chapter after this and then the epilogue. I hope you guys enjoy the end of this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Right now my feelings are mixed about whether my next story will be a Babe or will involve Bobby. I have started one of each and just can't decide which one I want to devote the time to finishing next._

_I want to thank Potterwench and XxTartLoverxX, you guys are awesome and thank you so much for taking the time to check up on me. To everyone else who has reviewed and/or followed this story since my last posting, THANK YOU. Your support makes this story possible and keeps me going._

Chapter 20 – Seek and Destroy

(Tank's POV)

Looking around at all the smiling faces of my friends and family, I couldn't help but be happy. After my mother and Farrah died I shut myself off from any type of real relationship because I feared that once I opened myself up they would be taken from me just as my own family had been. It wasn't until Stephanie managed to lodge herself so deeply in my heart that I realized what all I had been missing.

Now, as I stood here with everyone who mattered the most to me, I knew that without her my life would be meaningless. Sure, I have saved men and my country and I have worked hard to keep my community safe and felons off the street, but in the end I always ended up going home to an empty house and an empty life.

Stephanie changed all that. Her light and open acceptance of everyone around her made me look at the world in a way that I hadn't before. The things that I had once taken for granted I now saw the beauty of. Before Stephanie, I knew I had a family but I couldn't accept their unconditional love of me, but now as I stood here at my own wedding I knew without a doubt that the people around me (blood related or not) would all do anything for me just as I would for them.

Part of me was grateful for their open acceptance of her as well, because if anyone deserved a family like this it was her. Stephanie's own family must be blind to not realize what a gift she had been to them, and I knew without a doubt that if they ever came around she would forgive them. I'm sure she would never have the close relationship she had once had with them, but she would find a way to include them in her life because that was who she was.

I felt the smile overtake my face as I thought of her now being my family, and maybe one day our small family would grow. I never thought I would have children in my future, but just imagining two small kids with a mixture of our skin tones and her beautiful curly hair made me realize that it was exactly what I wanted someday.

"Where's your beautiful new wife, Pierre?" Tia's voice asked from behind me pulling me out of my own thoughts.

I grinned and turned to face her, "She was dancing with Carlos the last time I saw her."

She glanced around and noticed Ranger standing with Celia close to the cake table. "I believe Carlos has been with Celia for quite a while now, maybe she needed a quiet moment."

I let my eyes scan the yard, but didn't catch a glimpse of her curly hair. As if a switch flipped inside my gut, I suddenly felt uneasy. I could see Ranger and Lester both standing with Celia and I knew without a doubt that she wouldn't have left without letting one of us know.

I quickly excused myself from my Tia and walked over to where they were standing, trying desperately to tell myself that she was fine and nothing was wrong, but I had learned a long time ago that while my gut instincts were nothing near what Ranger or Stephanie's were, when I had a feeling it was generally right.

Ranger glanced up just as I made my way to him and took read my face in a way that only he and Steph could do, "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen, Steph?"

He frowned and glanced down at his watch. "She danced with me about twenty minutes ago and then went in the house to change out of her dress to leave. Is she not back yet?"

It was a rhetorical question. We both knew I wouldn't be standing here asking about her if she was here. I saw a flash of worry travel across his face and noticed Lester's face harden. "I'll go check the upstairs. Les take the parameter and Ranger check downstairs."

Neither one of them argued with my commands and we all went our assigned directions. It took the stairs two at a time and flew into my Tia's room where I knew Steph had gotten ready this morning. Her wedding dress was hanging on a hanger neatly in the closet so I knew she had managed to get this far. There were no signs of any distress so I made a quick check of the small bathroom and guest room that were also on this floor before making my way back down the stairs.

Just as I was coming down the stairs a flash of light reflected off of something under the small bookshelf that sat by the front door. I made my way to it and bent down to pull out the small object and couldn't keep in the curse that flew out of my mouth.

Ranger came up behind me apparently finishing his search of the downstairs and his eyes darkened when he noticed the small dart in my hand. "He got her."

I didn't respond. It was obvious someone had and I could only think of one person who even knew she was here.

At that moment the front door opened and both Ranger and I reached for our guns. Lester didn't even flinch as he walked into the room but I could tell by the amount of anger on his face that the news he was going to share would be bad.

"The guards we had positioned around the house were all taken out with tranquilizer darts. A few of them are coming around but it doesn't seem like they saw anything."

Ranger looked over at me, "Do we have any locators on her?"

I gave a tight nod. "She has one on her watch, but I'm sure he took that from her. He knows how we operate and he's not going to let her keep anything she has with her."

Ranger sighed in agreement before turning back to Lester. "Call Bobby and get him running some fresh searches focused on this area. He has to be hiding somewhere. Tell him to look at areas with known Russian mob affiliations."

Lester nodded and walked off to make his call.

"I'm going to call in the men from the Miami office and have them canvas the neighborhood. Maybe someone saw the car." He pulled his phone out of his pocket before turning back to me. "She'll be okay, she's tough and as much as I don't want to admit it – she'd never leave you willingly."

He walked out of the room and I felt the anger I had been holding back surface. We had only been married for one day and I already couldn't keep her safe.

Without thinking about it, I pulled my fist back and punched the wall. Ignoring the pain that lit up my arm I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to lose it. Steph needed me and I was going to find her.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

(Steph's POV)

I awoke to a stabbing pain in my shoulders and a banging in my head. I took a moment to listen to my surroundings before trying to open my eyes. Other than a faint dripping sound it was silent and I slowly allowed my eyes to open.

It looked as if I was in an empty basement or storage room in a parking garage. I was surrounded by four concrete walls and my hands were zip tied behind me. When I glanced down I noticed that I was no longer wearing the clothes I had changed into after taking my wedding dress off but instead I was wearing a black sports bra and a pair of black athletic shorts.

I couldn't help the involuntary shiver that went through me when I realized that someone had changed me while I was unconscious. I silently took inventory of my body to try and determine if I had been violated in any way, but other than the pain in my shoulders and head it seemed as if I was unharmed.

My stomach growled and I wondered how long I had been out of it. There weren't any windows or clocks in the room so it was impossible to tell what time of day it was.

I flexed my wrists and grimaced. The cuffs were as tight as possible and I knew there was no way I would be able to slip out of them. The only exit appeared to be a heavy metal door at the top of a small staircase to my right.

I felt myself begin to panic and tried to push it down. There had to be a way out of here. I just needed to focus on getting my hands free. I rubbed my fingers together hoping that my wedding ring was still on my finger and I could use it to help saw apart the thick plastic of the cuffs, but it only took a second for me to realize he had taken all of my jewelry as well.

I should have expected that after all we had the same training, he knew how I would escape this situation and he knew enough about RangeMan to think it was possible that I may have a tracker on any jewelry or clothes I was wearing. I could only hope my ring wasn't gone for good.

I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the increasing pain in my head and looked around the room again for anything I could use to get my hands free. Unfortunately, the only thing staring back at me was the concrete walls of the structure. There wasn't any furniture, trash, or even any uneven surfaces.

I folded my knees up to my chest and let my forehead rest against them. I had no delusions about what Damien wanted to do to me. He had made it clear from the past few weeks of stalking me. If he came back to find me awake and waiting for me he would have a plan to kill me and it wouldn't be an easy death.

I tried to control my breathing to keep from panicking too much. Only I would be kidnapped on my own wedding day and then managed to get myself killed. No. I had to make it out of this. Not only for me but for Tank. He had already lost too many people that were close to him. If he lost me I had no doubt that he would never be the same again.

I cleared my head and looked around the room and only then did it register that I could still hear the faint dripping sound from somewhere in the room. I forced myself to my feet and tried to ignore how the movement increased the pounding in my head then followed the sound to the far corner of the room where a small puddle of water stood and a copper pipe ran across the wall.

I let out a relieved breath when I realized the dripping was occurring because the pipe was broken. A small section had somehow been cut and there was a small jagged edge that would allow me to cut through the cuffs.

I turned around and put my hands against the pipe and began moving them up and down. My hands were sweating from both nerves and the panic I was feeling but I forced myself to continue until I felt my hands slip and the metal slice into my forearm.

I cursed under breath when I felt the blood began to trickle down my wrist. I sighed and went back to the corner I had woken up in. The slippery blood that was now coating my wrists would have to dry before I could continue to work on getting the cuffs off.

It was less than a minute after I sat back down that Damien silently entered from the door at the top of the stairs. I couldn't help but feel a mixture of relief that he hadn't found me while I was working on freeing myself and horror that he may be back to end my life.

He didn't say anything for more than a minute. He just stood in front of me letting his eyes wander up and down my body lingering on the cleavage that was exposed by the tight sports bra. I refused to say anything to him or let him know how scared I truly was so instead of looking at him I focused on the door which he had closed behind him when he entered.

"It took me a while to find this place, do you like it?" I didn't respond and I was pretty sure he wasn't really expecting me to. "I had to find somewhere I knew you couldn't escape from and what better than four concrete walls with nothing else inside them? Even you can't escape from here."

He moved around in front of me and traced a finger along the edges of fabric of my sports bra. "I toyed with several ideas on how to end your life, but then it hit me. Simply ending your life isn't enough. I know you well enough to realize that you would give your life for your friends and your husband willingly, and I know how desperately you would do anything to save him."

My heart skipped a beat before it began to hammer in my chest. Surely he wasn't going to do what I thought he was. I couldn't stand to bring Tank into this not knowing what he planned for me.

"If it makes you feel any better, I know he would do the same for you, and I'm counting on it." His hand moved from my chest to trace down my abdomen to the edge of the gym shorts. "I'm going to bring him here to watch while I take you so you can see the pain he is forced to go through. Then I will let you watch as I slowly kill him."

He knelt down in front of me and wrapped on of my loose curls around his finger and I fought to keep the tears which had filled my eyes from falling. "Will you beg me to kill you then?"

He stood and walked back up the stairs never looking back at me. He was right. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he forced me to watch as he killed Tank then I would beg him to kill me. I let the sob that had filled my throat out and for a few brief minutes I allowed myself to cry.

After I finally managed to get control of tears I stood up and walked back over to the broken pipe. There was no way I was going to just sit here and watch him kill my husband not if there was any breath left in my body.

I ignored the pain in my shoulders and the dripping blood as the cut in my arm reopened, and continued to saw until my hands finally came free from their bond.

I had no idea what I would do now, but at least I wasn't defenseless. I went back to the corner and sat with my hands behind my back. Then leaned my head back against the wall. There wasn't anything more I could do right now. I already knew there was nothing in this room I could use as a weapon.

I closed my eyes and let my mind clear. I needed to rest for a little bit and hope the pain in my head would subside and allow me to come up with a plan.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

(Tank's POV)

"Hitting the wall isn't going to help anything." Ranger said as he entered the door to my Tia's small office.

I sighed and took a deep breath trying to rein in my emotions. I pulled my hand out of the wall where I'd once again managed to force it through the sheetrock when I hit a dead end on my most recent search. "I know, but I'm coming up with nothing."

"I understand, but you've got to hold it together for her. We will find a way to get her out, but we don't have time to lose it right now." He tossed me a manila folder and I opened it to find a police record of a possible stolen car. "We got lucky and the man at the corner noticed Damien put an unconscious girl in the back seat of a black Toyota Corolla. He thought it was strange enough to write down the plate number and give the cops a call."

"Did we find the car?"

"It wasn't stolen so the cops didn't look into it any further. It's registered to a man known to have Russian mob connections and here we got lucky again. He had an aftermarket OnStar system installed in it." He paused and handed me another file. "Hector hacked into the OnStar system and managed to get the GPS location of the car. It's outside of an abandoned office building in a rundown area south of the city. I've already got two teams on the way to scope it out."

I felt the first sliver of hope enter my mind since I realized she was taken. I grabbed my gun from the desk and put it in my holster before following him outside to one of the RangeMan SUVs. One of the Miami guys was already waiting for us and handed each of us a bullet proof vest, I had just finished securing mine when my phone rang.

I glanced down at the display and felt my heart skip a beat when I saw Steph's name on the caller ID. "Steph?"

A deep chuckle sounded on the other end of the phone and I felt my breathing stop. Was she okay, or was he calling me to let me know I was already too late?

"She's beautiful isn't she? She has a way of making you feel like you're the only person in the world that matters. How much does she matter to you? What are you willing to do for her?"

His voice chilled me but I knew the answer to his question without even thinking about it. "I would do anything for her."

"Good." He paused. "You have fifteen minutes to get here. I will send a text message to your phone with the address; if I see anyone with you I will kill her then."

He hung up without saying another word and I pulled my phone from my ear to find Ranger staring at me. "Was it Damien?"

I nodded. We already had men on the way to the facility and I could only prey they wouldn't be seen. I know without a shadow of a doubt that there was no way Ranger would pull them. He had his best out there and I had to trust they could do their job.

"I'm not sure what his goal is but he wants me to come there alone."

Ranger nodded. "Go on. We've got your back."

I nodded and took off for my truck. I had no idea how this would end, but there was no way I would leave her there alone.

TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS*TS

(Steph's POV)

I'm not sure how much time passed before I heard the door open again. I looked up at the light flooding through the open doorway and felt all the air leave my body. Standing at the top of the stairs in nothing but a pair of grey sweat pants was Tank. I could only assume that Damien had also forced him to change out of fear of being found.

His eyes met mine from across the room and I could see that he was trying to reassure me that everything would be okay, but from where I was sitting I couldn't see how. I had no weapon and it was obvious he didn't either. His hands were behind is back and I was sure he was sporting the same flex cuffs I had managed to get myself out of only an hour ago.

I watched as Damien held a gun to his back and forced him down the stairs leading him to a corner opposite of the one I was currently in. He then bent over and forced Tank's legs together before placing flex cuffs around them as well.

"I have plans for your beautiful wife, and I wouldn't want you to try and save her." He said and he placed his gun on one of the stairs behind him.

Tank growled and his eyes flashed with a rage I had never seen before. I knew without a doubt that if he got free Damien wouldn't stand a chance. Damien must have known it as well because he grimaced and I saw some uneasiness in his movements.

I just needed to find a way to get to the gun he had left on the stairs before he found out I was no longer bound. The only problem was how to get across the room without alerting him to what I was doing.

Damien looked over at me and I couldn't help the shiver that went through my body when I noticed the emptiness in his eyes. Whatever he had planned for me wasn't going to be good.

He pulled a package of cigarettes out of one of his pockets then a lighter out of the other. He smiled at me and then lit the cigarette before taking a long drag. "Do you remember Kabul?"

I felt my eyes widen as I realized what he planned to do and I had to force myself to stay still and he moved to sit in front of me and then pressed the cigarette to my uncovered abdomen. I bit my lip to keep from screaming out and held my hands tightly behind my back in order to keep from hitting him and giving away the only advantage I had at the moment.

"I went back and watched the recording of him with you. I have to say, I can now understand why he thought your screaming was a turn on. Knowing you don't have a choice about what I will do to you now only makes me want you more."

He pressed the cigarette to another spot just below the already burnt skin from the previous attack. He ground it into my skin until the cigarette died out and I couldn't help but let out a small scream as the smell of burned flesh filled the room.

I could hear Tank shouting threats at Damien from across the room, but I couldn't focus on his words. Every ounce of my concentration was on keeping my hands secured behind my back. I watched silently as Damien threw the burned out cigarette behind him and pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket.

"I learned a lot from Ivan. He was one of my father's body guards before he came to work for me." He flipped the knife open and I couldn't help but remember Ivan's warm breath in my ear as he told me he could stab me over a dozen times before killing me. "If you're a good girl then maybe you won't have to know how much I learned from him."

He bent over me and slid the knife into the waistband of my gym shorts. I knew what he was planning to do, and I knew I had to make my move now or I would lose my chance. Just as he was moving to cut the waist band of my shorts I threw my arm out from behind my back and punched him in the nose. I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction as I felt the bone break with the force of my hit.

He cursed as he fell backwards and dropped the knife. I watched as it skidded a few feet across the floor and landed beside Tank. I didn't even waste a moment trying to go for it and instead forced myself to my feet and tried to run to the stairs to grab the gun, but my legs were asleep from sitting on the hard concrete floor for so long and just as I stood I felt them begin to fall out from under me.

Damien laughed and made a grab for my left ankle, but I was in survival mode and even if I couldn't feel my legs I could still make them work. I moved my right leg and kicked at his face. I felt my foot make contact with some part of his face and his grip on my ankle loosened enough for me to pull my leg from his grip.

I forced myself to my feet again and moved towards the stairs. I was just reaching for the gun when I heard Tank scream, "STEPH!"

I didn't even have a second to prepare myself before I felt Damien grip my hair and pull me back to him. He shoved me against one of the concrete walls and laughed. "I should have known that no plan which involved you would go as I planned."

He moved me towards the stairs and grabbed the gun as I kicked and scratched at his arms. He let out an annoyed sigh and then turned shoved me back against the wall. "You can't just do what you're told can you, bitch?"

He lifted the gun and pointed it towards Tank, but I couldn't let him die. I couldn't watch as the life drained out of his body so I did the only other thing I could think of. I spit in Damien's face and brought my knee up to his balls.

A look of fury filled his face and I suddenly realized he must have been wearing a cup in anticipation of my signature move. He pulled my head back and then slammed it into the concrete wall and I felt blackness fill my vision. He threw me to the floor and then turned the gun back towards Tank.

"I had planned a much better show for you, but it will torture her enough to watch you die."

I locked eyes with him and tried to force my mouth to work. I felt the tears streaming down my face and I tried to struggle to my feet but Damien only kicked me back down.

Tank smiled at me before barely whispering, "I love you."

Then I watched in horror as Damien turned the safety off and the sound of a gun being fired filled the room.


End file.
